Odds of a Depression? 1 in 5

The bad news is that this recession is likely to be America's worst since WWII—but the good news is there's only a 20% chance it will become a depression, Robert Barro writes in the Wall Street Journal. The Harvard economist crunched numbers from 251 stock-market crashes in 34 countries to determine the odds of a 10% or higher economic decline that defines a depression.

The lack of any major global conflicts means the chance of a depression being a major one—a decline of 25% or more—is only 2%, according to Barro's data. Recovery will be well under way by next year if the recession doesn't deepen, Barro writes, but if it becomes a depression things may not start looking brighter until 2012.