Early 1980s recession
US unemployment rate | |
| Duration | 1980–1982 |
|---|---|
| Cause | Tight monetary policy in an effort to fight high inflation percentages worldwide |
| Outcome | Skyrocketing unemployment worldwide, increased wealth inequality, increased divorce rates, urban decay, exacerbation of the savings and loan crisis, wage stagnation, drop in inflation percentages worldwide |
The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1982. Long-term effects of the early 1980s recession contributed to the Latin American debt crisis, long-lasting slowdowns in the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan African countries, the US savings and loan crisis, and a general adoption of neoliberal economic policies throughout the 1990s. It is widely considered to have been the most severe recession since World War II until the 2008 financial crisis.