• pyre@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    depression didn’t become recession, they’re different severities of economy downturn, which is a more generic term. nothing replaced anything.

    recessions are more common and last anywhere from a couple of months to about a year or two. depressions are rare and last longer, and the effects on things like unemployment and GDP are more severe. the great depression lasted 10 years.

    the difference between recession vs depression is akin to hill vs mountain. a steep hill can make you cite your entire swearword vocabulary on the way up, but a mountain will make you wear special equipment, need external support, and wish it was just a hill. where the line lies is probably arbitrary, but that doesn’t mean every hill is a euphemism for mountain.

    economic downturn in this analogy is akin to “elevated ground”. it’s generic and can be anything from an anthill to a mountain.