Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Many economic problems plagued the West during the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s. These problems include recession, an increase of unemployment, inflation, raised gas prices, a decrease in demand for European goods, and a decline in demand to repair European cities after World War Two. Counties dealing with these problems included Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. Despite their economic problems, they were still full participants in the technological growth during this time, and were still capable of standing up to American and Japanese economic competition. In Germany, their first Social Democratic chancellor, Willy Brandt, created a Basic Treaty with East Germany that called for “good neighborly” relations, which soon led to great cultural, personal, and economic contacts between West and East Germany. A discovery of an East German spy among Brandt’s advisors caused his resignation in 1974, and his successor, Helmut Schmidt took over. Schmidt concentrated primarily on the economic problems largely brought about by high oil prices between 1973 and 1975. In 1982, Helmut Kohl formed a new government in Germany after the coalition of Schmidt’s Social Democrats with the Free Democrats fell apart over the red