What is the difference between a recession and a depression?

Between trough and peak, the economy is in an expansion. Expansion is the normal state of the economy; most recessions are brief and they have been rare in recent decades. Depression. While there is also no standard definition for depression, it is commonly defined as a more severe version of a recession. read more

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. read more

Difference between definition of recession and depression Definition of Recession . A recession is a contraction phase of the business cycle. read more