There are multiple possible underlying causes and people are usually talking about one of them. Inflation is usually associated with too much demand (people at

There are multiple possible underlying causes and people are usually talking about one of them. Inflation is usually associated with too much demand (people attempting to buy more), and when that happens the economy is usually pretty good. A recession can happen when the central bank tries hard to fight it. In other cases it's caused by a collapse in supply, which can happen when things are going badly.