Recession shapes

Recession shapes or recovery shapes are used by economists to describe different types of recessions and their subsequent recoveries. There is no specific academic theory or classification system for recession shapes; rather the terminology is used as an informal shorthand to characterize recessions and their recoveries.^[1] The most commonly used terms are V-shaped (with variations of square-root shaped, and Nike-swoosh shaped), U-shaped, W-shaped (also known as a double-dip recession), and L-shaped recessions, with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the K-shaped recession (also known as a two-stage recession). The names derive from the shape the economic data – particularly GDP – takes during the recession and recovery.^[2]

^ Martha C. White (January 12, 2009). "This Recession Was Brought to You by the Letters U, V and L". The Big Money. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009.
^ Hauk, William (13 October 2020). "Will it be a 'V' or a 'K'? The many shapes of recessions and recoveries". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 November 2020.

[TBM-1] Martha C. White (January 12, 2009). "This Recession Was Brought to You by the Letters U, V and L". The Big Money. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009.

[tc-2] Hauk, William (13 October 2020). "Will it be a 'V' or a 'K'? The many shapes of recessions and recoveries". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 November 2020.

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