Stats NZ recently released GDP figures for the last quarter, which showed a 0.2% decline in the New Zealand economy compared to the previous quarter’s 3% rise.

However, this decline is not unique to New Zealand and has been identified in many developed economies across the world which have reported either a drop in GDP or a slow in growth.

Many top New Zealand economists, referencing this number and other cruical recent developments in the world economy, are now predicting an economic recession in the next year.

To get a better idea of what the numbers mean, and what an economic recession entails, Casper spoke to Dr Murat Üngör from the department of economics at the University of Otago.