Paid non-client promotion: Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However ...

Some observers believe the global economy resembles that of the late 1930s, and we risk another Great Depression. But there are clear differences between then and now, argues John Stepek.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images The record-breaking losses have led people on social media to speculate about another Great Depression. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images @frogs4girls has a ...

Your new book is called, What Can We Learn from the Great Depression? Stories of Ordinary People and Collective Action in Hard Times? Could you give us a bird’s eye view of this book?

The Great Recession from 2007-09 saw GDP fall 4.3%, the biggest drop since the Great Depression. Deregulation in the 2000s and excessive risk by banks were major causes of the financial crisis.

The longest recession in American history took place between 1929 and 1939. Known as the Great Depression, this economic crisis was noteworthy in terms of both its length and its severity.