Yet another example of the malleability of words and meaning. In this morning's Times we learn that the Euro, wonder of wonders, may be the source of the problems in Europe. That's no surprise to anyone who reads Krugman, et. al., but let that pass. What struck me was this:
True, there have been glimmers of good news lately. Consumer confidence among Europeans has improved, and recession has ended in countries like France and Spain. European stock indexes are up for the year. And yes, the euro in recent months has risen in value against other main currencies — although that is more curse than blessing, because it makes exports relatively more expensive outside the euro zone.
via New York Times
So, in this case, the word that's gotten the Humpty Dumpty treatment, most likely by one or more central bankers, is the word recession. When I was just a wee lad, I naively thought that a recession was a junior depression. Not so bad as the thirties, but bad. And I also thought that the bad thing about depressions, and by extension, recessions, was that a lot of people ended up unemployed. It followed, at least in my feeble little mind, that a recession ended when unemployment went back to reasonable levels, which in my naiveté I pinned at around 4%. Or, to be more precise, such a decrease in unemployment was at least necessary, if not sufficient, to end a recession.
Apparently, I was wrong. The Spanish unemployment rate is now 25.98%, down from a high of 27%. What definition of end of recession could possibly apply to a country with a 26% unemployment rate? Apparently, a benchmark was met, and unbeknownst to the people of Spain, that country, like this, left recession behind while millions were left unemployed. Apparently, these days, recessions end as soon as the bankers feel secure. Humpty would be awestruck.
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