After the price of oil began falling sharply during the first few months of 1986 the prospects for a more pronounced and long-lasting economic upswing in the industrialised countries were generally regarded as having improved. The increase in demand and production in 1986, however, was more...

In 1984 the world economy witnessed the kind of high growth rate it had last seen eight years ago. In the industrialised countries real GNP increased by almost 5%. The most pronounced increase was in the USA, although the initial thrust clearly tailed off during the course of the year. Against...

1979 saw a pronounced cyclical downturn with mounting, inflation and balance of payments problems bear upon the western industrialized countries with the long-expected recession materializing in the USA early in 1980. In Western Europe demand and production began to slide a little later....