"This has been a debate that economists have been addressing for really almost a century. And there are some economists who actually think that it is good for the economy to go through a recession every now and again," says Dr. Walden, a professor of agricultural and resource economics.

"Number one, they think this sort of plays a cleansing role. That is, a recession will get rid of weaker companies, it will reduce weaker sectors in the economy, and this will allow resources in the economy -- that is, money and technology and machinery and workers -- to move away from declining sectors to growing sectors," he explains. "And these economists, therefore, claim that actually that will put the economy on sounder footing and allow it to grow faster in the future.

"It's kind of akin to fires in a forest, where some foresters say that forest fires are actually good periodically because it kind clears out the dead brush and the dead trees and leaves the forest in a better position to grow faster in the future," he continues. "That's exactly what these economists are saying who claim that recessions can be good.

"Now clearly though -- and you pointed this out -- there are big, big costs to a recession. Unemployment goes up, incomes go down, and we see all kinds of social issues and indicators deteriorate also during a recession.

"This is again a question of benefits and costs," Walden concludes. "If there are any benefits to a recession, they certainly have to be weighed against the big costs."