>During the fall in oil prices, I recall frequent references crediting oil
>prices with prosperity at the time. Recently, I have seen articles
>claiming it was irrelevant. Maybe I missed something important that
>changed since 86.
The IMF had a piece in a World Economic Outlook from some years back claiming that the fall in oil prices in '86 extended the '80s boom by several years, by reducing inflationary pressures and thereby staying the tightening hands of central bankers. Not that the IMF has the inside track to truth, of course, but it's not unpersuasive.
Doug