The post–World
War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom, the long
boom, and the Golden Age of Capitalism, was a period of economic prosperity in
the mid-20th century which occurred, following the end of World War II in 1945, and lasted until the early
1970s. It ended with the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system in 1971, the 1973 oil
crisis<span>, and the 1973–1974
stock market crash, which led to the </span>1970s
recession. Narrowly
defined, the period spanned from 1945 to 1952, with overall growth lasting well
until 1971, though there are some debates on dating the
period. Booms in
individual countries differed, some starting as early as 1945, and overlapping
the rise of the East Asian economies into the 1980s or 1990s.
