“In the late 1960s & early 1970s, Japan’s economy was expanding at a scorching rate of nearly 9% annually; it then slowed to about 3%. Growth revived in the 1980s but then slumped again. It went from 4.6% in 1990 to about 1% over the next 7 years. South Korea, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark all experienced middle-income slowdowns.”