I heard somewhere on these boards that there was a small recession in the late 80s, about 1987 to 1989. Is this true? I may have listened wrong.

But can anyone clear this up for me?

In the UK, in the early 1980s, there was a recession that for 1980 to 1982. The probable cause possibly monetarist government policies to reduce inflation, company earnings decline 35%, and unemployment rises 124% from 5.3% of the working population in Aug 1979 to 11.9% in 1984. It took 13 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of 1980 Took 18 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of recession.

In the UK, in the early 1980s, there was a recession that for 1980 to 1982. The probable cause possibly monetarist government policies to reduce inflation, company earnings decline 35%, and unemployment rises 124% from 5.3% of the working population in Aug 1979 to 11.9% in 1984. It took 13 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of 1980 Took 18 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of recession.


Yes, I heard of the early 80s recession before. I think the US had one in 1980 to 1982 also. Strange how both the UK and US had a recession at the same time?

The main one I remember (post 1987) was the one in the early 1990s...

The main one I remember (post 1987) was the one in the early 1990s...


From wikipedia (I know, wiki has a reputation for being wrong), there was no recession in the late 80s.

The late 80s had Black Monday, the largest stock market drop in history up to that point.  The DOW dropped by 22.61% in one day!  That's way worse than the largest one-day losses of 2008 (largest percentage drop in one day was around 5% I think). 

While I wasn't there at the time of course, a reading of history tells me that there wasn't really a recession in the late 1980s, but the economy was growing at a slower rate than it was in the mid 80s.  This helps set the stage for the early 90s recession, but wasn't really a recession in itself.

The late 80s had Black Monday, the largest stock market drop in history up to that point.  The DOW dropped by 22.61% in one day!  That's way worse than the largest one-day losses of 2008 (largest percentage drop in one day was around 5% I think). 

While I wasn't there at the time of course, a reading of history tells me that there wasn't really a recession in the late 1980s, but the economy was growing at a slower rate than it was in the mid 80s.  This helps set the stage for the early 90s recession, but wasn't really a recession in itself.


The early '90s recession only lasted about a year (mostly confined to 1991), partly attributed to the Gulf War, a real estate cycle, and after the initial wave of technology (Apple Macintoshes, VCRs) and before the next wave (Microsoft Windows, cellphones, Internet). It was sort of a "vacation" for the economy after taking a good run in the '80s, going right back to work during 1992 (grew 3.8% that year) that lasted until 2000.

there was the crash of 1987, but overall the economy continued to grow until some point in 1990, i believe.