- •080100 Экономика
- •1 What is Economics
- •2 What Economists Do
- •3 Economic Systems
- •4 The Traditional Economy
- •The Market Economy
- •The Planned Economy
- •7 The Mixed Economy
- •8 The Role of the Production of Material Values
- •9 David Ricardo and the Theory of Comparative Advantage
- •10 Adam Smith and Development of Economic Thought
- •12 Banks
- •13 The Stock Exchange
- •14 Unemployment
- •15 Inflation
- •16 Types of Business Firms
- •17 The Functional Organization of the Company
- •18 Set – up of British Companies
- •19 Retailing
- •20 Wholesaling
- •21 Poverty
- •22 Less Developed Countries
- •23 Factors of Production
- •24 British Economy
- •25 U. S. Economy
25 U. S. Economy
The United States is rich in natural resources, such as iron ore, coal and oil. The nation produces more than 100 million tons of iron a year. Four fifths of the ore mined in the USA comes from the Great Lakes region. Though a great deal of the ore has been used up, its resources have not been exhausted. Most of the coal mined in the USA is used by power plants to produce electricity. Coal is also used in the chemical industries for the manufacture of plastics and other synthetics. The production, processing and marketing of such oil products as petrol (called gasoline or gas in the USA) make up one of America’s largest industries.
The basic metals and minerals mined in the United States are zinc, copper and silver.
Some of the main crops grown in the USA are wheat, maize, cotton, tobacco and fruit.
Cattle breeding and pig raising make up an important branch of America’s agriculture.
To make the farmer’s work more productive scientific methods of farming are employed and modern technique of freezing, canning and packing of farm products is used.
The United States is an industrial country where such branches of heavy industry
prevail as: mining, metallurgical, automobile, chemical industries and engineering. Many branches of light industry are also developed, among them are the textile, food and woodworking industries
The leading US exports are industrial machinery, electronic equipment, armaments, grain, oil products and chemicals.
American industry is distributed unevenly. Originally most of the industrial enterprises were located in the eastern part of the country. But industry was spreading outside this territory, and closer to natural resources and markets. Good transportation facilities and rapid communications systems helped this process.
A great deal of attention was devoted to research and the number of scientists and engineers at the plants was steadily growing. Mechanization and automation did away with thousands of office jobs, intensified production and increased labour productivity.
New industries are created as new discoveries are made in physics, chemistry and other sciences. Atomic energy, for instance, has created a wide range of new industries. Electronics has become a major industry.
Rapid development of communication means has facilitated cooperation and control but increased competition. Competition is a struggle for survival. Special emphasis is laid on management training. A great number of schools and colleges are training young people to become industrial leaders.
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Bibliography
Macmillan Guide to Economics (Student’s Book). Lilia Raitskaya, Stuart Cochrane. Oxford University Press, 2011. – 148 p.
Macmillan Guide to Economics (Workbook with key). Lilia Raitskaya, Stuart Cochrane. Oxford University Press, 2011. – 112 p.
Electronic resources
www.gro.gov.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org
www.economist.com/topics/british-economy
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/economy