The superpowers and their economic historyIn the late 1980s, the United States suffered from a number of economic problems which led some analysts to believing that Japan would soon become the economic hegemon. By the end of the 1990s, the United States economy was apparently in a much better place and the United States was once again clearly becoming the global hegemon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Therefore, it asks... What changes over the past decade explain this turnaround in America's economic situation? What are the most important characteristics of Japan that have been overlooked in terms of assessing its overall power? While Japan's postwar economy was thriving in the 1980s, the United States was not as successful. A number of factors have led to the economic problems and successes that have caused analysts to question the future of these countries and their economic situation. By analyzing the events that led to these two situations, other external factors, and current events during this period, one can make an informed decision on how these economic changes occurred. These and other factors may determine why the United States, in a recession, was able to rebound and become the leading economic superpower. In the 1980s, the United States had three presidents, with Jimmy Carter for one year and Ronald Reagan. for eight years and George Bush for one year. This decade was called the "Reagan Revolution" as the economy was simultaneously in recession beginning and ending in 1980. This recession was primarily caused by the energy crisis which led to a rapid increase in inflation, and resolved by the reduction of Carter's budget cuts and spending. The energy crisis was a time when oil supplies were limited and prices were skyrocketing. Major industrialized countries and regions have been hit very hard by this situation, such as the United States, Japan, Australia and Western Europe. The Arabs imposed an embargo, or ban, on the sale of oil to the United States because of our alliance and aid to the Israelis. This embargo lasted for a year and revealed the great dependence and need of the United States for obtaining oil. This event was extremely important for the rest of the decade, as it had a lasting effect on oil prices, even after the embargo. Two years later, we discover that if there is an unemployment rate of 10.4%, there is also an increase of 11.4%. in the population since the 1970s (Thenlen, 2004). This is the highest unemployment rate in U.S. history. In my opinion, these two rates are correlated and population is an important factor in employment rates. The percentages are actually quite similar, with only a 1 percent difference. However, it is logical that the number of children in the world has been increasing since the 1970s and that the number of jobs in the 1970s was not sufficient to support families and that there were not enough jobs for those who reach the age to find employment. This is the result of the recession and, fortunately, by the end of the decade the United States will experience the lowest unemployment rates since the 1940s. There have been other woes in the United States also, related to internal and external problems. For example, Reagan had to ban the sale of grain and high technology to the UnionSoviet due to the invasion of Afghanistan due to the Soviet-Afghan War. This, coupled with the arms race, led to a significant loss of revenue for the United States, as well as a rapid increase in military spending, which reached 400 billion per year and only declined in the 1990s. The stock market crash was another misfortune, leading to a loss of 30 billion market shares (Thenlen, 2004). The United States is difficult to influence, but it seems that one misfortune happens one after another. Terrorism was widespread in the United States as it became increasingly involved in Western politics. There were several hostage strikes and even 52 American hostages were held in Tehran. Eight billion dollars had to be passed to these Iranians to get these Americans back. Another example would be the bombing of the World Trade Center by Islamist terrorists in 1993, killing six people and injuring a thousand others. Opinions, whether well-informed or not, were being expressed about these countries in which the United States was involved, and were generally not good ones. Many people were even opposed to the way the United States handled some of these situations. Cases like this dented American morale, with external and internal problems plaguing the country. The United States was able to rebound in the late 1990s and regained its economic dominance over Japan. This happened through a multitude of events, but the main helping factor was the end of the arms race and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 1980 alone, the United States had created 2,000 launchers, 10,000 nuclear warheads and 4,000 megatons, not counting the actual stockpile already established. It cost the government a huge amount to build manufacturing locations, hire people to build them, and obtain the materials needed for these weapons. This considerable amount of money, invested in such an insane objective, could now be directed elsewhere, towards more important issues in the United States. The United States was finally able to focus on itself and its internal struggles rather than on the spread of communism. As mentioned, the United States experienced some downsides in the 1990s, including wars, fraud, and terrorism. All of this has affected American morale and their opinion of our country/people in power. One example is the Gulf War, codenamed Operation Desert Shield, which began when Iraq invaded its neighbor Kuwait. This was at a time when Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was invading Kuwait and Arab powers were calling on the United States to intervene. This war cost $61 billion, with the United States spending less than $20 billion of the total cost. Overall, there have not been many downsides that have significantly and negatively affected the United States economy. The Japanese had great success in the 1980s and were nicknamed the “bubble economy”. Japan first industrialized after World War I by establishing industrial and financial business groups called zaibatsus (Okina et al, 2001). These were usually established in groups of families, and then others purchased shares and formed strong business relationships. This, combined with the US Marshal Plan, aided Japan in its economic reconstruction and prosperity. President Truman signed the U.S. Marshall Plan to help post-World War II Europe rebuild its economies and prevent the spread of communism. The Bank of Japan also provided more money in the form of loans to the people, thereby boosting the economy. All of these factors played a role in the growth of the Japanese economy.’.