Variant II the american economy

The United States of America is the 4^th largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and China. It occupies the central part of the North American continent.

The United States has been the world’s leading industrial nation since early in the 20^th century. With less than 5 percent of the world population the US in the early 1990s produced about 25 percent of the world’s output. The US economy is more than twice as large as the next largest economy, that of Japan. The people of the United States have one of the highest standards of living. In 1994 the United State’s GNP was more than $6.7 trillion.

US Economic System. The United States economy is based largely on a free enterprise system. In such a system, individuals and companies are free to make their own economic decisions. Individuals and companies own the raw materials, equipment, factories, and other items necessary for production, and they decide how best to use them in order to earn a profit.

Even though the US economy is based on free enterprise, the government plays an important part in the market place. So, the US economy is considered to be mixed. The government has placed regulations on economic practices through the years. It has passed antitrust laws, which keep one company or a few firms from controlling entire industries. Such control, called a monopoly, does away with competition and enables controlling companies to charge high prices and reduce the quality of goods. Government regulations help protect workers from unsafe working conditions and unreasonably low wages. In spite of involvement by the government, the United States still has one of the least regulated economy in the world.

The US economy consists of three main sectors – the primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Primary economic activities are those directly extracting goods from the natural environment, and include agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining. The primary sector usually contributes 3 percent of annual GDP.

Natural resources and mining. A variety of natural resources provide the raw materials that support the economy of the United States. The most valuable resources are minerals, soils, water, forests, and fish.

The Unites States has large deposits of coal, iron ore, natural gas, and petroleum. Other important minerals include copper, gold, phosphates, silver and zinc. The US ranks third, after Russia and Saudi Arabia, in the production of petroleum. It is second to Russia in natural gas production, and to China in coal production. To meet its needs, however, the United States must import additional amounts of iron ore, petroleum, and other minerals.

Although mining accounts for a small share of the total US economic output, it has been a key to the growth of other parts of economy. Coal and iron ore, for example, are needed to make steel. Steel, in turn, is used to make automobiles, buildings, bridges, and many other goods. Coal is also a fuel for electric power plants. Refineries turn petroleum into gasoline; fuel oil for heating and industrial power; and petro-chemicals used in plastics, paint, drugs, fertilizers and synthetic fabrics.

Great amounts of energy consumed by the United States annually are generated from various sources. Petroleum provides about 40 percent and this source of energy is used to power motor vehicles, and it heats millions of houses and factories. Natural gas generates about 25 percent of the energy used. Coal is the source of about 25 percent of all energy. Its major uses are in the production of electricity and steel.

Agriculture. Agriculture accounts for 2 percent of the US GDP and employs 3 percent of the nation’s workers. Yet, the United States is a world leader in agriculture production. The country’s farms produce as much food as nation needs, with enough left over to export food to other countries. About a third of the world’s food exports come from US farms.

Beef cattle is the most valuable product of American farms. Many of the cattle are raised on large ranches. Texas produces more beef cattle than any other state. Leading agricultural crops are corn, soybeans, vegetables, fruits and nuts, wheat, cotton and tobacco. Corn is a major crop in many parts of the United States as it is the main feed for the cattle and hogs. The leading tobacco-producing states are North Carolina and Kentucky. More than three-quarters of the oranges are produced in Florida. California grows nearly one-half of the nation’s fresh vegetables.

Secondary economic activities include manufacturing and construction. They account for 22 percent of the GDP and employ 20 percent of the workers. Manufacturing industries are involved in changing raw materials into finished products required by consumers. The leading categories of US products are chemicals, transportation equipment, food products, industrial machinery, and electronic equipment.

Through the years, Americans have developed manufacturing processes that have greatly increased productivity. During the early 1900s, US automobile firms introduced the moving assembly line. This led to mass production, in which large numbers of goods could be produced in less time and at a lower cost. In the mid-1900s US industries turned to automation – the use of machines that operate with little human help. American inventors and engineers developed computers to bring automation to a higher level. Today, computers operate machines, handle accounting, and perform many other important functions in industries.

The construction industry is involved in the construction of roads, schools and hospitals – all part of the infrastructure of the United States. The industry is also concerned with house building and factory building. It accounts for 4 percent of the US GDP and provides jobs for 4 percent of the work force. This industry employs such workers as architects, engineers, contractors, bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, ironworkers, and plasterers.

There are many people in a country that do not produce goods but play an important role in the commercial life of a country.

Tertiary economic activities or service industries account for 75 percent of the US GDP and employ 76 percent of the country’s workers. These industries include a wide variety of businesses that provide services rather than producing goods. Examples of service industries include wholesale and retail trade, banking, government, and transportation.

Community, social, and personal services rank first among US service industries. This industry includes such establishments as doctor’s offices and private hospitals, hotels, law firms, computer programming and data processing companies, restaurants, repair shops, private research laboratories, and engineering companies.

Finance, insurance and real estate rank next among US services industries. Banks finance much of the economic activity in the United States by making loans to both individuals and businesses. American banks loan billions of dollars annually. Most of the loans to individuals are for the purchase of houses, automobiles, or other major items. Banks loan to businesses to provide an important source of money for capital expansion – the construction of new factories, and the purchase of new equipment.

The United States has the world’s largest private insurance industry. The country has about 2,000 life and health insurance companies and above 3,500 property and liability companies. Real estate is important to the economy because of the largest sums of money involved in the buying and selling of property.

Wholesale and Retail Trade play major roles in the American economy. Wholesale trade, which includes foreign trade, takes place when a buyer purchases goods directly from a producer. The goods may then be sold to other businesses for resale to consumers. Retail trade involves selling products to the final consumers. Grocery stores, department stores, and automobile dealerships are examples of retail trade establishments.

Foreign trade provides markets for surplus agricultural goods and many raw materials and manufactured goods produced in the United States. The nation imports goods that it lacks entirely or that producers do not supply in sufficient quantities. It also imports goods produced by foreign companies that compete with the US firms. During much of the country’s history, the value of the US exports has exceeded, or has been about the same as, the value of its import. But since the mid-1960’s, the value of imports has usually been much higher than the value of exports.

Important US exports include (1) machinery and transportation equipment, such as aircraft, computers, electric power equipment; (2) manufactured articles, especially scientific measuring equipment; (3) chemical elements and compounds, including plastic materials; (4) basic manufactures, such as metal and paper; and (5) agricultural products, especially corn and wheat.

The leading US imports are (1) machinery and transport equipment, such as automobiles and parts, engines, office machines, and telecommunications equipment; (2) manufactured articles, such as clothing, shoes, and toys; (3) mineral fuels and lubricants, especially petroleum; (4) basic manufactures, such as iron, steel, and other metals, paper; (5) chemical products, such as chemical compounds and medicines.

Canada and Japan are the country’s chief trading partners. Other major US trading partners include Germany, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Government services play a major role in the economy. Federal, state, and local governments employ 17 percent of US workers. Many government employees are directly involved in making public policies. Others – including police officers, postal workers, teachers, and trash collectors – provide public services. Federal, state and local governments buy a fifth of all the goods and services produced in the nation. These purchases range from paper clips to office buildings. The federal government is the nation’s largest single buyer of goods and services. Its agencies, including the military, buy billions of dollars worth of equipment from private companies. State governments spend most of their income on education, health care and hospitals, highways, and public welfare. Local governments spend over a third of their income on education, and less for police and fire protection, hospitals, streets, and parks.