NEW YORK, March 20 (UPI) -- A leading U.S. economist Thursday said the recession many say has begun in the United States could have been prevented by quicker Federal Reserve action.

Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute said the U.S. Federal Reserve did not act quickly enough when it began cutting key interest rates last fall. The economic stimulus package also came too late, he said.

"If they had done all this in the fourth quarter … we might not have had a Bear," he said in reference to investment bank Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) which collapsed last week.

"I think we'd be having a different discussion," Achuthan said.

Achuthan pointed to the end of 2007, when inventories were low, as the time to act. A boost to the economy then would have spurred consumer spending and resulted in increased productivity, he said.

"There was an opportunity that was wasted by policymakers because they didn't understand those dynamics," he told CNN.