ABSTRACT

In 1973 and from 1979 to 1980, the oil-producing nations of the Middle East increased the price of oil in several stages and gravely dislocated the world economy. Japan, which depends heavily on oil for its energy, suffered huge increases in the costs of imports, in«ation of domestic prices, unemployment (despite a history of labor shortages), and an interruption of remarkable economic growth (Beasley 1990, pp. 249-250).