layin on the smackdown Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I know this isn't a hot topic, but we are all facing this horrible reality...With our economy on a tragic downward spiral, i have read and witnessed on the news the two words being used, but undefined...So my question is...when does a recession turn into a depression? Is it based on the national unemployment percentage? Or does it revolve around raw data coming out of wall street? What is the real difference between a recession and a depression? thanks, Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92xj Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 A good rule of thumb for determining the difference between a recession and a depression is to look at the changes in GNP. A depression is any economic downturn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent. A recession is an economic downturn that is less severe. quoted off of google, not mine own words, fyi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Well, I know what depression is, because I've had my fair share of it. I've been depressed, and can relate to that, but I can't ever remember being recessed. I bet you were looking for an educated answer...eh:rolleyes: sorry:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS whitetail Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 In economics, a recession is a general slowdown in economic activity in a country over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction.[1][2] During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way. Production as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and business profits all fall during recessions. Governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary macroeconomic policies, such as increasing money supply, increasing government spending and decreasing taxation. In economics, a depression is a sustained, long downturn in one or more economies. It is more severe than a recession, which is seen as a normal downturn in the business cycle. Considered a rare and extreme form of recession, a depression is characterized by abnormal increases in unemployment, restriction of credit, shrinking output and investment, numerous bankruptcies, reduced amounts of trade and commerce, as well as highly volatile relative currency value fluctuations, mostly devaluations. Price deflation or hyperinflation are also common elements of a depression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Well, I know what depression is, because I've had my fair share of it. I've been depressed, and can relate to that, but I can't ever remember being recessed. I bet you were looking for an educated answer...eh:rolleyes: sorry:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 In economics, a recession is a general slowdown in economic activity in a country over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction.[1][2] During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way. Production as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and business profits all fall during recessions. Governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary macroeconomic policies, such as increasing money supply, increasing government spending and decreasing taxation. In economics, a depression is a sustained, long downturn in one or more economies. It is more severe than a recession, which is seen as a normal downturn in the business cycle. Considered a rare and extreme form of recession, a depression is characterized by abnormal increases in unemployment, restriction of credit, shrinking output and investment, numerous bankruptcies, reduced amounts of trade and commerce, as well as highly volatile relative currency value fluctuations, mostly devaluations. Price deflation or hyperinflation are also common elements of a depression. That's exactly what I was going to post. It is a numbers game. Reduction in GNP/GDP over the course of a a few fiscal periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCH Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 A recession is to a depression as a two story apartment building is to the Empire State building. They both have the same foundation, just one is a lot bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 A recession is to a depression as a two story apartment building is to the Empire State building. They both have the same foundation, just one is a lot bigger. That was good I wish I had of said that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_lou Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 That made me laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layin on the smackdown Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 That's exactly what I was going to post. It is a numbers game. Reduction in GNP/GDP over the course of a a few fiscal periods. So technically, we will not be in a depression, unless this recession gets worse and expands over a period of longer than 2 years (2 fiscal cycles)... man i hope it gets better alot sooner than that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCH Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 So technically, we will not be in a depression, unless this recession gets worse and expands over a period of longer than 2 years (2 fiscal cycles)... man i hope it gets better alot sooner than that... That's assuming that we haven't been in a recession for the past year. I doubt you will find too many experts that say we're in a depression right now, but if you ask someone 20 years from now, they may be classifying these economic conditions as a depression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aksheephuntress Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 ....Alaska has been untouched by both, (so far).... -and there are so many jobs needing to be filled up here (although we are still paying $3.89/gal. for diesel.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 a depression is what you get when you spend trillions of pork barrel dollars during a depression. so, grab a life preserver, because this ship seems to be going under. obamanomics in full swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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