og 12 -sc 50求指教~

Tonybonaparte

The key in this sentence is the modifier 'growing' because it suggests that the 'growing' has been continuing into the present (which means that it started in the past). The economists had feared the recession before this growing started but once the growing started (in the simple past) they stopped fearing the recession. So the fearing has to be in the past perfect tense.
This might not sound very clear but there is no better way of putting it. This is a tricky sentence because the simple past tense is not explicitly stated but implied.  

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