The Cost of Recreation in the 1980s.

In the 1980s Americans continued to find new means of escape from their work schedules and to consider these means an important investment. In 1980 total personal expenditures for recreation were $149 billion; by 1989 the figure had risen to $250 billion. In 1980 sales of sporting goods totaled nearly $17 billion; by 1989 that total had risen to $45 billion. In 1980 Broadway shows took in $143 million; by 1989 their receipts totaled $262 million. Total motion-picture receipts in 1980 were $2.7 billion; by 1989 they had risen to more than $5 billion. In 1980 Americans spent $9 billion on books; by the end of the decade they were spending more than $19 billion. The leisure and entertainment industries were bigger businesses than ever before during the 1980s. According to Margaret Ambry, in 1988 American households spent $126 billion for entertainment, and the average household devoted 5 percent of its total spending to entertainment costs. Middle-aged householders accounted for 72 percent of...