Challenges to the global economy, 1973-1990

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

How the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, the new protectionism and the debt crises of the 1980s challenged the global economy, who they hurt, and how to weigh them.

• The 1973 oil crisis

  In 1973 Arab oil producers used oil as a weapon. Prices nearly quadrupled, which ended the cheap energy that had fuelled post-war growth.

• The 1979 oil crisis and the policy shift

  The Iranian Revolution doubled oil prices again. The response, very high interest rates, caused a deep recession and changed economic policy.

• Protectionism

  Slow growth after 1973 brought a "new protectionism" of quotas and export limits, but the open trading system bent rather than broke.

• The debt crises of the 1980s

  Cheap loans in the 1970s became unpayable debts when interest rates rose and export prices fell. Latin America lost a decade of growth.

• Who was hurt, and how the system adapted

  The challenges hit countries unequally. The system survived by changing its rules and ideas.

• Weighing the challenges

  To judge which challenge mattered most, set criteria: breadth, depth, length and links to the other challenges.

• Put it together: Rank the challenges

  Choose a challenge and test how serious it was.