The Postwar Rise in Unemployment Unemployment and inflation both got worse in all major industrial countries after the first oil shock hit in 1973. At first it seemed like a problem centering on oil and on inflationary policies, and on America. Two decades later it is clear that the trend toward higher unemployment transcends short-run crises and cycles. The whole menu of trade-off between unemployment and inflation had worsened in every major country, and productivity growth had slowed down. The problem is peculiarly international, and must be solved with internationally coordinated macro-policies.
Different authors make different choices.
At the Root of Unemployment in Europe. Perspectives, Summer 1997. Europe versus North America. Perspectives, Summer 1997. An International Perspective.