The Future of the Economy in the year 2000

The economy has performed exceptionally well for the past several years, combining rapid growth and very low unemployment with declining inflation. “Not only has the expansion achieved record length, but it has done so with far stronger growth than expected,” stated Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in his remarks to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition annual conference in Washington (Business Week, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Economic Outlook, March 6,2000). Figures show that since 1996, the growth of GDP …

…other problems develop. Consumer price inflation could increase significantly in the next few months because of the recent oil price rise. Slower growth prospects may inhibit the flow of investments into the industry. This, in turn, may trigger an economic recession and unemployment. If, however, OPEC increases production, the fear of inflation could lessen and long-term Treasury interest rates could move lower. In this case, a disastrous scenario of the US economy may be avoided.