Is the economy in a recession? ‘What you call it is less relevant,’ says one economist: Here’s ‘what really matters’

Officially, the NBER

 as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.” In fact, the latest quarterly gross domestic product report, which tracks the overall health of the economy, showed a second consecutive contraction this year.

Still, if the NBER ultimately declares a recession, it could be months from now, and it…