Economy of the United States

With a Gross domestic product (GDP) representing a quarter of the world GDP, the the United States are by far the first economic power world, if one does not classify the European Union like a unit power. Only the State of California, if it were independent, would be the sixth economic power world.

Vast country, equipped with many Natural resources, the United States has a GDP per capita among highest in the world. Their economic great power, due to a Productivity, a Rate of employment and a Duration of the important work, and more than 150 million workers, enables them to maintain most powerful armed with the world and to be in strong position in the trade negociation and diplomatic. The American universities drain towards the country the most brilliant students, and place the country at the point of the Technological advancement, in particular for “technologies of the future” (Biotechnologies, Technologies information and the communication, etc). The infrastructures developed, the low level of imposition, the spirit of free-company which rises from the Economic liberalism, makes economy of the United States one of the more competitive of the world.

In this market economy, the most dynamic sectors are the electronic , the aerospace one, the Biotechnologie S and industries of the armament

In 2005, the United States remains the second destination of the Direct investments abroad (IDE) with 110 billion dollars.

The dollar being used as currency of reference on a worldwide scale, the United States can know current Déficits important, representing until 6 % of their GDP, which make it possible to appease the thirst for Consommation American households, but which involves in debt them with respect to the foreigner. This perennial situation not will not be solved that by a fall of the Foreign exchange rate of the dollar, or a fall of the household consumption, which is likely to cause a fall of activity on a worldwide scale.

Whereas the developed Pays are generally less uneven, the United States is to it more than their equivalents, even if the Pauvreté is weak there. They are also blamed for their high oil consumption, the not-signature of the Protocole of Kyōto, or the freedom which they take with certain rules of the International business.

History

August 1st

In 1869, for the first time in the history of this nation, the industrial Added-value exceeds that of agriculture.

The crisis of 1929 was the release of a large wave of depressions throughout the world.

The United States knew one uninterrupted period of growth of almost 10 years: of 1992 with 2000. The Gross domestic product believed of 3,7 % on average during these years with points in 5,2% in 2000 or 4,4% in 1997 and 1998. Between 1996 and 2000, the GNP increased by 25%: a rate of Economic growth comparable with that of the Years 1960.

The technological advance with respect to the rest of the world, very important at the end of the Second world war, was reduced. For example, the Japan is from now on leader technological in the sector of electronics.

Employment

The year 2004 was the best year since 1999 for American employment. The country created, in 2004, more than 2,2 million new employment, that is to say a progression of 4,4 %. December 2004 is the sixteenth consecutive month of job creation, with an unemployment rate with 5,4 %. It fell to 5,1% for the month from May 2005 and 4,4% in October 2006.

The president George W. Bush who had made countryside partly on this topic, sees there the sign of the success of his policy of fall of taxes, contrary to the analyzes of the democratic economists - when they tried, at the time them primary, to mobilize their left wing on this topic - and certain European economists. However, the psychosis of the American decline economic, continuous to weigh on moral middle-classes, the most affected by the many delocalizations, and, in a total way, the number of employment is always lower than that of before the recession of 2001.

The index of the “Board Conference” which measures the feeling of confidence of the American households was to 102 in December 2004 against 92 in December 2003. Even the manufacturing sector, which had lost 3,2 million employment between 1998 and 2003, created 76.000 in 2004 of them.

Minimum wage

There exists since 1938 and the Great Depression. It belongs to the measurements taken by the president Roosevelt and which found the Welfare State . In 2005,18 States decided to increase this Minimum wage. In the State of Washington, it is assembled to 7,35 dollars ¹ of the hour. The Poverty line was fixed at 16.000 dollars for a family of 3 people. The number of people paid with the minimum wage is in fall: between 1997 and 2004, it fell of 2,8 million while one announced a surplus balance of 44,5 billion in December 2006 the federal budget.

Returned from the federal state passes from 2 119 billion $ by lasting the financial year 2005 with 2 568 billion $ at the financial year 2007 while the expenditure is of 2 466 billion $ during the year ficale 2005 and 2 731 billion $ in 2007; the deficit of the federal budget was reduced to 163 billion dollars is 1,2% of the GDP for this last year.

Marketing policy

Total statistics

Some statistics (source: Le Figaro , February 16th 2005):

In 2004, net imports of long-term capital: 821,8 billion $.
Trade deficit in December 2004: 56,4 billion $.
Importation S of services (of billion dollars, 2004): 291,14.
Export S of services (of billion dollars, 2004): 336,10.
Importations of goods (of billion dollars, 2004): 1473,12.
Exports of goods (of billion dollars, 2004): 811,06.

In 2005, the Trade deficit of the the United States reached a level record to 726 billion dollars (610 billion Euro S) following the rise in the prices of the Hydrocarbure S, that represents nearly 6% of the Gross domestic product.

In October 2006, the American trade deficit is established to 58,9 billion dollars against 63,4 billion in September 2006, that is to say a reduction of 8,4%. It continues to be reduced in 2007, in particular under the effect of the depreciation of the dollar compared to the euro: in May 2007, it rose to 296 billion $.

Commercial exchanges by country

Approximately 40% of the Trade deficit come from the exchanges with the China. In 2005, the Importation S coming from China accounted for 162,9 Mds $, the Exportation S towards China being of 48,7 Mds $, that is to say a Trade deficit of 114,2 Mds $ (source: Chinese customs).

The the United States absorb more 80 % of the Export S of the Mexico.

The largest economic partners are, in the order, the Canada and the Mexico (2003).

Commercial exchanges with some countries of the European Union in 2004

(in Mds €, Source: Eurostat)

Trade agreements

The the United States belong to ALENA and the Economic cooperation Pacific Asia (APEC). The July 27th 2005: the United States announces the concluding of a treaty of Free trade with six countries of Latin America (ALEAC: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica). The Customs duties are removed on several types of products, in particular of the manufactured goods and Agroalimentaire S. the United States in an agreement of free trade with certain Arab countries and African (Morocco, Turkey and Jordan)

Monetary policy

In March 2003, EDF did not have much any more of room for maneuver, because the directing rates were already with 1.25 %. Since, with the favor of the good behavior of the economic growth, it gradually raised them. In June 2005, they are to 3% and pass to 3,5% in August same year.

Energy policy and environmental

See also: Political environmental of the United States of America

All in all, the energy policy and environmental of the the United States is characterized by the minimum of engagements written in the international agreements, and the maximum of efforts of Research and development (often public), by making call on the initiative of the citizens.

In addition, the American administration set up since the end of the Années 1980 a policy of support for the companies (advocacy center) which systematically influences the international authorities in the field of the energy and of the environment (WBCSD, BASD, PNUE,…), in relation to environmental ONG. The opinion of a certain number of Americans is that it is possible to substitute the Capital naturalness by a Stock of knowledge (see low/strong Durabilité). One of the gurus of this form of Economic growth is Paul Romer. The American organizations thus control by the means of the Web many Databases in this field (environment, USGS, climate change…).

The government of George W. Bush decided to withdraw negotiations of the Protocole of Kyoto while proposing a few months later another plan less constraining than that of Kyoto: it is about the “ Clear Skies and Global Climate Change ”, of February 14th 2002, which develops a gradual approach, in the short or the long term, vis-a-vis the greenhouse effect. It envisages:

to lower the emissions of Gas to greenhouse effect of GDP of 18% in ten years
giving 700 million additional dollars (that is to say 4,5 billion on the whole) to research on the climate changes
to exempt of 4,6 billion dollars of taxes on 5 years for those which invest in the renewable energies.

The Bush administration also called into question of the more or less old devices of fight against the Pollution in the country: standards of pollution for the thermo plants, taxes special on the oil and chemical firms to finance the cleaning of the polluted rivers…

In 2004, the Republican senator John McCain and the democrat Joseph Lieberman file in a bill aiming at limiting the rejections in the atmosphere; supported by the Alcoa large companies, Dupont de Nemours and American Electric Power, it is however not adopted.

The July 6th 2005, during the top of the G8 to Gleneagles, president George W. Bush recognized for the first time that the production of Gaz to greenhouse effect of the human activity is partly responsible for the Climate warming while reaffirming its opposition to the Protocole of Kyoto. But it continues to plead for the search and the development for nonpolluting energy sources, rather than by a reduction of the Gaz to greenhouse effect.

The July 28th 2005, the government of the United States signed an agreement with Vientiane with five countries of the Asia-Pacific (Australia, India, Japan, China and South Korea) aiming at developing new technologies to fight against the emission of gases with greenhouse effect. The structure of this agreement is called since the end of 2005 Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate Change (AP6), Partenariat the Asia-Pacific for the clean development and the climate change. According to its detractors, this agreement which does not impose any target in precise figure in terms of pollution, would make it possible the USA to circumvent, even to torpedo the agreement of Kyoto. The July 29th 2005 was voted the law of reform on the energetic sector. It envisages:

to reduce the energy dependence of the United States
to increase the sources of renewable energy
to encourage the use of the Biocarburant S
extension of the period of the summer-time, second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November.
to improve the Nuclear sector (George W. Bush promulgated a law to build new nuclear plants)
to modernize the thermal factories with the coal and the network.

It also should be announced that the United States, with the European Union, the Russia, the Canada, the China, the Japan and the South Korea, and after hard Négociation S, takes part finally in the financing of the project ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) envisaged with Cadarache (France). This project could be the solution with the replacement of the Pétrole and the Uranium in the production of energy.

In October 2005, the president with called his fellow-citizens to reduce their oil consumption. Over the year, the Americans bought more bicycles than cars. In May 2006, George W. Bush decided for the construction of new nuclear plants: in Pottstown (Pennsylvania), it also promoted the Biocarburant S and the sources of renewable energy.

Companies

US economy by economic sectors

If one follows the distribution into three Economic sectors:

Primary sector

Agriculture

American agriculture (1st exporter, 2nd importer) is the first of the equal world with the European Union (1st importer, 2nd exporter). It is modern and productive because it uses 1,7% of the active population in 2004. The majority of the American territory are emphasized but the Grandes Plains remain the symbol of the American agricultural power. Into the west, thanks to the irrigation, the agricultural productions are integrated into the capitalist system. The American agricultural productions are varied with the image of the climates of the country:

bovine breeding, in particular Ranching and Feed batches in the Rock ones: 98,5 million heads in 1999 (3rd world producer) (see bovine Breeding in the United States)
porcine breeding (the second of the world): 62,2 million heads in 1999 (Source: Economic Images of the World , 2001)
vines, in California

cereals, mainly in the Large Plains: Corn, Corn and Soya
Cotton in the old south
tobacco
fruits in the Sun Belt (oranges of Florida)

Mines and energy

In 1999, the USA were the second coal producers with 920 million tons. The production of oil occupies the same row with 358 million tons
In 2003, energy deposit rate was of 72,7%.

NB: * = million Mtoe; ** = billion cubic meters

Fish

fishing is very present close to the littorals. For fishing at sea, one can is to fish in Florida in the Atlantic Ocean or California in the Pacific Ocean.

Secondary industry

The Secondary industry employs 20,8% of the American active population. The first five states by the importance of the labor working in industry are California (1 529.500 employees), Ohio (824 700), Illinois (710 000), Michigan (702 900) and Pennsylvania (696 800).

Heavy industries:

Refineries: at the end of 1999, the refining capacity of the United States was of 827 million tons, placing the country with the first world rank. The United States ensures 20% of the world refining.
In 1999, the country was the second steel producer behind China, with a production of 97 million tons.

aeronautical:

military: the independent groups are: Lockheed, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.
civil: Automobile Boeing

: the principal American firms are: General Motors, Ford, Buick, Cadillac (automobile), Caterpillar, Chevrolet, DaimlerChrysler, Mercury (automobile), Pontiac (automobile)
Electronic, software and data-processing: IBM, Motorola, United Technologies, Microsoft, Apple, Inc., Dell, Texas Instruments, Intel Corporation, Macromedia, Netscape Communications Corporation, Symantec, Hewlett Packard, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Electricity: General Electric, Shaw Group
Consumer goods: Eastman Kodak, Whirlpool, Gillette Company, Nike, Procter & Gamble
Agribusiness industries:

High technologies

The development of the advanced technology industries is the result of a policy of investments in the Basic research and the Research and development. The Office of Science and Technology ( Office off Science and Technology ), the the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council or NASA are the public main organizations who stimulate research in the United States. The public expenditure as regards research rises to 126 billion dollars in 2004, of which 55% are devoted to military research. As for the private sector, he spent 181 billion dollars. The network of the public universities of California has the same budget as that of CNRS in France.

Tertiary sector

The Tertiary sector employed, into 1991,72% of the active population and constituted 68% of the national wealth.

In 2005, the services occupy 77,4% of the American active population in 2005.

The expenditure of Santé absorbs 15,3% of the GDP.

Stockmarkets

The New York Stock Exchange (Wall Street) and NASDAQ are more the significant markets of the world in term of financial flows.

The Stock Exchange Chicago, less known of the general public, is the first purse in the world of many treated operations.