Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Junkomama]

Hello, teachers.

Is it OK to use the following expressions instead of "a long recession"

1. an extended recession
2. a long / lingering bad economy

Thank you in advance!

Junkomama

[LucentShade]

#1 sounds just fine to me

[Schweppes]

Hi,

From what I found right now, a recession is roughly defined as an extended decline in general business activity. The National Bureau of Economic Research formally defines a recession as three consecutive quarters of falling real gross domestic product. That is about 9 months. If the recession you are refering to lasts longer than that then you could indeed refer to it as an extended recession. I would also say "a deep recession". It sounds a little more dramatic and a recession that lasts one year or longer could be dramatic. You could say, "the economy fell into a deep recession." It implies that it is an extended recession and it will take a long time for the economy to recover.
_________________
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.--Albert Einstein

[Junkomama]

Hello, LucentShade-san.
Thanks a lot for your answer!!

Hello, Schweppes-san.
Thank you so much for your explanation!
I think I understand what "extended" and "recession" mean.

With regards,
Junkomama

[MrPedantic]

The two versions of #2 sound a little awry to me:

2a. a long bad economy
2b. a lingering bad economy

For 2a, you might say "an economy that has performed badly for a long time"; and for 2b, if you were happy to be overly journalistic, you could say "a lingeringly bad economy".

See you,
MrP

[Junkomama]

Hello, Mrpedantic.
Thanks a lot for your comment on sentence 2!

Regards,
Junkomama