ABSTRACT
In the spring of 1970, the OECD projected economic growth for the new decade for the major industrial nations. With 1970 output set equal to 100, Japan’s national output was forecast to reach 265 by the end of the decade (implying an annual growth rate of 10.2 per cent). For other countries the projections were more modest: France 185 (6.3 per cent), Italy 177 (5.9 per cent), USA 164 (5.1 per cent), Germany 162 (5.0 per cent) and the United Kingdom 143 (3.6 per cent). None of these countries, however, achieved more than 50 per cent of the target set. Japan’s increase in national output was only one-third of that expected by the OECD.
