"This" or "that"?

[Sirreth]

Two paragraphs:
[...] Shouldn’t companies have reduced their investments? Shouldn’t families have tightened their belts and saved money for difficult times? The opposite happened: the US savings rate even dropped below zero.

This creates the impression [...]

"This" or "that" creates the impression? I asked my English teacher and she wasn't sure of it either.

[rewboss]

"This" indicates something close by, while "that" refers to something a bit further away. Using "this" here makes the text sound more immediate, more urgent, more up-to-date.

[BobK]

To add a bit about close/further way:

This in the example means 'what I have just mentioned'.

That, in a similar context, could mean either 'what I said yesterday', or 'what someone else has just said/said yesterday'.

b