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The Link asked in Social ScienceEconomics · 8 years ago

What are the most likely, realistc, and feasable scenarios for the catastrophic collapse of our economy?

I includes the U.S., western, and/or global economies. One would naturally affect them all.

What collapse scenarios do you think most likely, how likely (or unlikely) do you think they would be, how would they precipitate, and how would they play out? Could any countries or entities actually benefit from economic collapse? Say, like China? Detailed answers are encouraged! Recovery scenarios are also welcome.

Long story shot, this is for a book idea I've been toying with, but also for my own curiosity in economics. Just fishing for realistic inspiration and veiwpoints I haven't considered.

Thanks for any answers in advance, and God bless!

1 Answer

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  • Anonymous
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    I don't think the world would totally collapse, unless there was all out panic/war. The global economy is so well intertwined these days that it would be very difficult for any one country's economy to bring down the world economy, save a few. China, U.S., and U.K. would have a detrimental impact to the world economy. But as I said, it would be very difficult for any of those economies to completely fail. Consider consumer expenditure on an annual basis. Consumers generally have a certain amount of money to spend on goods and services.. Consumers are always going to spend, and as long as there are places of businesses to sell those goods, consumers will continue to buy. There are certain categories/products that are necessities and are almost immune to economic impacts due to the fact that they are necessities.

    However, if the world economy were to collapse, it would require a big event to cause that collapse. The fall of the U.S. government/nation would certainly have a large impact globally, since most countries rely on the U.S. for food, technology and various other resources. At which point hyper-inflation would be rampant, prices of goods&services would rise dramatically and businesses would collapse. The strain would cause a dominoe effect. However, it wouldn't be permanent. The global economy would reset itself once it settles say in 1-2 years following the economic collapse. Global prices would drop, employment would rise and inflation would reset. We would more than likely turn towards bartering as a form of exchange instead of currency and I'm sure the gold standard would be reinstated.

    Source(s): Masters in Economics
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