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Show Giiolienne Ahead The myriad of domestic and international problems which .have surfaced during the decade just drawing to a close have taken a heavy toll upon public confidence. SO, AT FIRST glance, prospects for the 1980s would seem to hold little in the way of economic and investment opportunity. Such a pessimistic viewpoint, view-point, however, is far from justified, according to studies made by the staff of Bab-son's Bab-son's Reports. UNDOUBTEDLY there will be a host of vital problems to be tackled, but there are favorable forces that can come into play if the more vexing issues can be either resolved or contained. Favorable influences are potentially powerful enough to assure definite business progress and investment rewards for much of the coming decade. THERE SEEMS little doubt ! as of now that the 1980s will open on the same cynical economic note that will usher out the current decade. The recent multi-pronged attack launched by the Fed in ian effort to throttle down ; rampant inflation and prop up I the seriously impaired U.S. i dollar seems sure to diminish j further the vitality of such key sectors of the economy as i I building, consumer spending, ; . and business capital expendi- ; tures. ; : RECESSIONARY condi- ,' tions may not relinquish their grip on business until 1980 is , well under way, and the en-, en-, suing recovery will likely be hesitant in its early stages, j . If The Fed's goals are I i achieved, however, there will ! be a healthier monetary and ' economic base for renewed j growth. YET, WORRIES over availability and costs of fuel and energy, plus social and ( political upheavals abroad, loom as spasmodic but j unavoidable problems. I Chief among the possible ; , aids to economic expansion in ; the approaching decade is the - , nation's population structure. . The bulge in the composition . of the population will be in the 25-to-44 age group. rTHIS IS the area highlighting highlight-ing family formation, rapidly 3 rising incomes, and heavy i consumption. Actually, dur- . ing the decade drawing to a close, this factor has already i been making itself felt. Stress on family formation augurs well, of course, for residential building. It is estimated es-timated that over the next ten years approximately 2 million j new residential units will be needed annually to accommodate accom-modate U.S. needs. THIS IS AN average rate, with some years running above this figure and others a bit below. We anticipate that the sharpest emphasis in residential construction in the 1980s will be on such multi- unit homes as apartments and condominiums. Another population consideration con-sideration is the enlargement of the senior citizens' market. This will entail more housing for the elderly, health maintenance main-tenance drugs and accessories, acces-sories, and nursing home facilities. Senior citizens are becoming better organized, more vocal, and quite effective effec-tive in detailing their needs to government authorities. THERE IS A keen and growing need to improve the nation's industrial might. For over a decade, massive amounts of annual business capital have been expended on equipment and facilities required to comply with na tional environmental quality standards. . In the 1980s, however, channeling of many of such capital" outlays into the process of modernizing and increasing productive capacity could be an enormous enor-mous source of overall economic stimulus. TANGIBLE benefits to business in general will be contributed by work on a number of knotty problems that have been troubling this nation for some years. While much attention has already been focused on energy, water pollution, and waste disposal, a great deal more remains to be accomplished, ac-complished, with a consequent con-sequent potential demand for manpower and materials in the years ahead. OBVIOUSLY, there are many grounds for optimism in viewing the upcoming decade of the 1980s. |