Economy of the United States

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Economy of the United States
Lower Manhattan from Jersey City November 2014 panorama 3.jpg
New York City, the financial center of the United States.[1]
Currency United States dollar (USD) = $ 1
Increase Dollar Index
October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017
Trade organizations
WTO, OECD, NAFTA and others
Statistics
GDP $18.56 trillion (2016)
GDP rank 1st (nominal); 2nd (PPP)
GDP growth
Increase 1.6% (2016)[2]
Increase 2.6% (2015)[3]
GDP per capita
$57,300 (2016)[4]
GDP by sector
Agriculture: 1.1%
Industry: 19.4%
Services: 79.5%
(2016)[5]
line-height:1.1em
Increase 2.1% (2016)[6]
Population below poverty line
13.5% (2015),[7]
Negative increase 0.482 (2015 est.)[8]
Labor force
159.64 million (2016)[9]
7.5 million unemployed (February 2017)[10]
Labor force by occupation
Farming, Forestry, and Fishing: 0.7%
Manufacturing, Extraction, Transportation, and Crafts: 12%
Managerial, Professional, and Technical: 38%
Sales and Office: 23%
Installation and Maintenance: 3.3%
Other Services: 23%
(June 2014)
[note: figures exclude the unemployed][11]
Unemployment 4.7% (May 2016)[12]
Average gross salary
Increase$49,000, annual,(2015)[13]
Increase$40,000, annual,(2015)[14]
Main industries
Highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunication, chemicals, arms industry, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
8th (2017)[15]
External
Exports Decrease $1.47 trillion (2016 est.)
Export goods
machines, 33.9%
industrial supplies, 31.2%
consumer goods (except automotive), 12.3%
motor vehicles and components, 9.8%
food, feed, and beverages, 8.9%
other, 3.9%. (2014)[16]
Main export partners
 Canada 18.6%
 Mexico 15.7%
 China 7.7%
 Japan 4.2%
(2015)[17]
Imports $2.21 trillion (2016 est.)
Import goods
capital goods 25.2%, consumer goods (except automotive) 23.8%, industrial supplies (except crude oil) 17.8%, motor vehicles and components 14.0%, crude oil 10.5%, food, feed, and beverages 5.4%, other 3.3%. (2014)[18]
Main import partners
 China 21.5%
 Canada 13.2%
 Mexico 13.2%
 Japan 5.9%
 Germany 5.5%
(2015)[19]
FDI stock
$3.65 trillion (2016)[20]
Negative increase $17.91 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)
note: approximately 4/5ths of US external debt is denominated in US dollars
Public finances
Negative increase 73.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
Negative increase -2.9 of GDP (2016)
note: for the US, revenues exclude social contributions of approximately $1.0 trillion; expenditures exclude social benefits of approximately $2.3 trillion (2015 est.)
Revenues $3.0 trillion (individual income tax, 46.2%; social insurance, 33.9%; corporate taxes, 10.6%; other, 9.3% – FY2014)[21]
Expenses $3.5 trillion (Social Security, 24.3%; defense, 17.2%; Medicare, 14.6%; unemployment and other income security, 14.6%; Medicaid, 11.7%; interest, 6.5%; veterans, 4.3%; education and training, 2.6%; other, 4.2% – FY2014)[22]
Economic aid ODA $48 billion, 0.03% of GDP (2012)[23]
Foreign reserves
$143.506 billion (May 16, 2014)[28]
line-height:1.25em;padding:0.2em;
File:US GDP per capita.PNG
Historical US GDP per capita, 1929–2011
US household income distribution by county, 2009

The United States is the world's largest national economy in nominal terms and second largest according to purchasing power parity (PPP), representing 22% of nominal global GDP and 17% of gross world product (GWP).[4] The United States' GDP was estimated to be $18.56 trillion in 2016.[29] The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world's foremost reserve currency, backed by its science and technology, its military, the full faith of the US government to reimburse its debts, its central role in a range of international institutions since World War II and the petrodollar system.[30][31] Several countries use it as their official currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency.[32] The United States has a mixed economy[33][34] and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment.[35] Its seven largest trading partners are Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.[36]

The US has abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity.[37] It has the world's ninth-highest per capita GDP (nominal) and tenth-highest per capita GDP (PPP) as of 2013.[38][39] Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007.[40][41] It has been the world's largest national economy (not including colonial empires) since at least the 1890s.[42]

The U.S. is the world's third largest producer of oil[43] and natural gas.[44] It is one of the largest trading nations in the world[45] as well as the world's second largest manufacturer, representing a fifth of the global manufacturing output.[46] The US not only has the largest internal market for goods, but also dominates the trade in services. US total trade amounted to $4.93T in 2012. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 128 are headquartered in the US.[47]

The United States has one of the world's largest and most influential financial markets. The New York Stock Exchange is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization.[48] Foreign investments made in the US total almost $2.4 trillion,[49] while American investments in foreign countries total over $3.3 trillion.[50] The economy of the U.S. leads in international ranking on venture capital[51] and Global Research and Development funding.[52] Consumer spending comprises 71% of the US economy in 2013.[53] The United States has the largest consumer market in the world, with a household final consumption expenditure five times larger than Japan's.[54] The labor market has attracted immigrants from all over the world and its net migration rate is among the highest in the world.[55] The U.S. is one of the top-performing economies in studies such as the Ease of Doing Business Index, the Global Competitiveness Report, and others.[56]

The US economy went through an economic downturn following the financial crisis of 2007–08, with output as late as 2013 still below potential according to the Congressional Budget Office.[57] The economy, however, began to recover in the second half of 2009, and as of 2016, unemployment had declined from a high of 10% to 4.7%.

In December 2014, public debt was slightly more than 100% of GDP.[58] Domestic financial assets totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities totaled $106 trillion.[59]

History

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Colonial era and 18th century

The economic history of the United States began with American settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. The American colonies went from marginally successful colonial economies to a small, independent farming economy, which in 1776 became the United States of America.

19th century

In 180 years, the US grew to a huge, integrated, industrialized economy that made up around one fifth of the world economy. As a result, the US GDP per capita converged on and eventually surpassed that of the UK, as well as other nations that it previously trailed economically. The economy maintained high wages, attracting immigrants by the millions from all over the world.[citation needed]

In the early 1800s the United States were largely agricultural with more than 80 per cent of the population in farming. Most of the manufacturing centred on the first stages of transformation of raw materials with lumber and saw mills, textiles and boots and shoes leading the way. The rich resource endowments contributed to the rapid economic expansion during the nineteenth century. Ample land availability allowed the number of farmers to keep growing, but activity in manufacturing, services, transportation and other sectors grew at a much faster pace. Thus, by 1860 the share of the farm population in the US had fallen from over 80 per cent to roughly 50 per cent.[60]

In the 19th century, recessions frequently coincided with financial crises. The Panic of 1837 was followed by a five-year depression, with the failure of banks and then-record-high unemployment levels.[61] Because of the great changes in the economy over the centuries, it is difficult to compare the severity of modern recessions to early recessions.[62] Recessions after World War II appear to have been less severe than earlier recessions, but the reasons for this are unclear.[63]

20th century

File:Average Tariff Rate in USA (1821-2016).gif
Average Tariff Rate in USA (1821-2016)
File:U.S. merchandise trade balance (1895-2015).png
U.S. merchandise trade balance (1895-2015)

At the beginning of the century new innovations and improvements in existing innovations opened the door for improvements in the standard of living among American consumers. Many firms grew large by taking advantage of economies of scale and better communication to run nationwide operations. Concentration in these industries raised fears of monopoly that would drive prices higher and output lower, but many of these firms were cutting costs so fast that trends were towards lower price and more output in these industries. Lots of workers shared the success of these large firms, which typically offered the highest wages in the world.[64]

The United States has been the world's largest national economy in terms of GDP since at least the 1920s.[42] For many years following the Great Depression of the 1930s, when danger of recession appeared most serious, the government strengthened the economy by spending heavily itself or cutting taxes so that consumers would spend more, and by fostering rapid growth in the money supply, which also encouraged more spending. Ideas about the best tools for stabilizing the economy changed substantially between the 1930s and the 1980s. From the New Deal era that began in 1933, to the Great Society initiatives of the 1960s, national policy makers relied principally on fiscal policy to influence the economy.[citation needed]

During the world wars of the twentieth century the United States fared better than the rest of the combatants because - aside from the attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 - neither world war was fought on American territory. Yet, even in the United States, the wars meant sacrifice. During the peak of Second World War activity, nearly 40 per cent of US GDP was devoted to war production. Decisions about large swaths of the economy were largely made for military purposes and nearly all relevant inputs were allocated to the war effort. Many goods were rationed, prices and wages controlled and many durable consumer goods were no longer produced. Large segments of the workforce were inducted into the military, paid half wages, and roughly half of those were sent into harm´s way.[65]

The approach, advanced by British economist John Maynard Keynes, gave elected officials a leading role in directing the economy, since spending and taxes are controlled by the U.S. President and the Congress. The "Baby Boom" saw a dramatic increase in fertility in the period 1942–1957; it was caused by delayed marriages and childbearing during depression years, a surge in prosperity, a demand for suburban single-family homes (as opposed to inner city apartments) and new optimism about the future. The boom crested about 1957, then slowly declined.[66] A period of high inflation, interest rates and unemployment after 1973 weakened confidence in fiscal policy as a tool for regulating the overall pace of economic activity.[67]

The U.S. economy grew by an average of 3.8% from 1946 to 1973, while real median household income surged 74% (or 2.1% a year).[68][69] The economy since 1973, however, has been characterized by both slower growth (averaging 2.7%), and nearly stagnant living standards, with household incomes increasing by 10%, or only 0.2% annually.[70]

The worst recession in recent decades, in terms of lost output, occurred during the financial crisis of 2007–08, when GDP fell by 5.0% from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2009. Other significant recessions took place in 1957–58, when GDP fell 3.7%, following the 1973 oil crisis, with a 3.1% fall from late 1973 to early 1975, and in the 1981–82 recession, when GDP dropped by 2.9%.[71][72] Recent, mild recessions have included the 1990–91 downturn, when output fell by 1.3%, and the 2001 recession, in which GDP slid by 0.3%; the 2001 downturn lasted just eight months.[72] The most vigorous, sustained periods of growth, on the other hand, took place from early 1961 to mid-1969, with an expansion of 53% (5.1% a year), from mid-1991 to late in 2000, at 43% (3.8% a year), and from late 1982 to mid-1990, at 37% (4% a year).[71]

In the 1970s and 1980s, it was popular in the U.S. to believe that Japan's economy would surpass that of the U.S., but this did not happen.[73]

Since the 1970s, several emerging countries have begun to close the economic gap with the United States. In most cases, this has been due to moving the manufacture of goods formerly made in the U.S. to countries where they could be made for sufficiently less money to cover the cost of shipping plus a higher profit. In other cases, some countries have gradually learned to produce the same products and services that previously only the U.S. and a few other countries could produce. Real income growth in the U.S. has slowed.

The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, created one of the largest trade blocs in the world in 1994.

Since 1976, the U.S. has sustained merchandise trade deficits with other nations, and since 1982, current account deficits. The nation's long-standing surplus in its trade in services was maintained, however, and reached a record US$231 billion in 2013.[74] In recent years, the primary economic concerns have centered on: high household debt ($11 trillion, including $2.5 trillion in revolving debt),[75] high net national debt ($9 trillion), high corporate debt ($9 trillion), high mortgage debt (over $15 trillion as of 2005 year-end), high external debt (amount owed to foreign lenders), high trade deficits, a serious deterioration in the United States net international investment position (NIIP) (−24% of GDP),[76] and high unemployment.[77] In 2006, the U.S. economy had its lowest saving rate since 1933.[78] These issues have raised concerns among economists and national politicians.[79]

21st century

U.S. public net debt and the total public debt
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Comparison between U.S. states and countries by GDP in 2012.

The United States economy experienced a crisis in 2008 led by a derivatives market and subprime mortgage crisis, and a declining dollar value.[80] On December 1, 2008, the NBER declared that the United States entered a recession in December 2007, citing employment and production figures as well as the third quarter decline in GDP.[81] The recession did, however, lead to a reduction in record trade deficits, which fell from $840 billion annually during the 2006–08 period, to $500 billion in 2009,[71][82] as well as to higher personal savings rates, which jumped from a historic low of 1% in early 2008, to nearly 5% in late 2009. The merchandise trade deficit rose to $670 billion in 2010; savings rates, however, remained at around 5%.[83]

US real GDP grew by an average of 1.7% from 2000 to the first half of 2014, a rate around half the historical average up to 2000.[84]

The U.S. public debt was $909 billion in 1980, an amount equal to 33% of America's gross domestic product (GDP); by 1990, that number had more than tripled to $3.2 trillion – or 56% of GDP.[85] In 2001 the national debt was $5.7 trillion; however, the debt-to-GDP ratio remained at 1990 levels.[86] Debt levels rose quickly in the following decade, and on January 28, 2010, the US debt ceiling was raised to $14.3 trillion.[87] Based on the 2010 United States federal budget, total national debt will grow to nearly 100% of GDP, versus a level of approximately 80% in early 2009.[88] The White House estimates that the government's tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019,[89] up from $202 billion in 2009.[90]

The U.S. Treasury statistics indicate that, at the end of 2006, non-US citizens and institutions held 44% of federal debt held by the public.[91] As of 2014, China, holding $1.26 trillion in treasury bonds, is the largest foreign financier of the U.S. public debt.[92]

The distribution of household incomes in the United States has become more unequal during the post-2008 economic recovery, a first for the US but in line with the trend over the last ten economic recoveries since 1949.[93] Income inequality in the United States has grown from 2005 to 2012 in more than 2 out of 3 metropolitan areas.[94] Median household wealth fell 35% in the US, from $106,591 to $68,839 between 2005 and 2011.[95]

Business culture

File:US Real Gross Private Domestic Investment and Real Corporate Profits After Tax.png
US Real Gross Private Domestic Investment and Real Corporate Profits After Tax

A central feature of the U.S. economy is the economic freedom afforded to the private sector by allowing the private sector to make the majority of economic decisions in determining the direction and scale of what the U.S. economy produces. This is enhanced by relatively low levels of regulation and government involvement,[96] as well as a court system that generally protects property rights and enforces contracts. Today, the United States is home to 29.6 million small businesses, 30% of the world's millionaires, 40% of the world's billionaires, as well as 139 of the world's 500 largest companies.[97][98][99][100]

From its emergence as an independent nation, the United States has encouraged science and innovation. In the early 20th century, the research developed through informal cooperation between U.S. industry and academia grew rapidly and by the late 1930s exceeded the size of that taking place in Britain (although the quality of U.S. research was not yet on par with British and German research at the time). After World War II, federal spending on defense R&D and antitrust policy played a significant role in U.S. innovation.[101]

The United States is rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil, and it is fortunate to have a moderate climate. It also has extensive coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers flow from far within the continent and the Great Lakes—five large, inland lakes along the U.S. border with Canada—provide additional shipping access. These extensive waterways have helped shape the country's economic growth over the years and helped bind America's 50 individual states together in a single economic unit.[102]

The number of workers and, more importantly, their productivity help determine the health of the U.S. economy. Consumer spending in the US rose to about 62% of GDP in 1960, where it stayed until about 1981, and has since risen to 71% in 2013.[53] Throughout its history, the United States has experienced steady growth in the labor force, a phenomenon that is both cause and effect of almost constant economic expansion. Until shortly after World War I, most workers were immigrants from Europe, their immediate descendants, or African Americans who were mostly slaves taken from Africa, or their descendants.[103]

Demographic shift

Map of states with percent change in economic growth in 2013.
GDP per capita growth.
United States wealth compared to the rest of the world in the year 2000.

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Beginning in the late 20th century, many Latin Americans immigrated, followed by large numbers of Asians after the removal of nation-origin based immigration quotas.[104] The promise of high wages brings many highly skilled workers from around the world to the United States, as well as millions of illegal immigrants seeking work in the informal economy. Over 13 million people officially entered the United States during the 1990s alone.[105]

Labor mobility has also been important to the capacity of the American economy to adapt to changing conditions. When immigrants flooded labor markets on the East Coast, many workers moved inland, often to farmland waiting to be tilled. Similarly, economic opportunities in industrial, northern cities attracted black Americans from southern farms in the first half of the 20th century, in what was known as the Great Migration.

In the United States, the corporation has emerged as an association of owners, known as stockholders, who form a business enterprise governed by a complex set of rules and customs. Brought on by the process of mass production, corporations, such as General Electric, have been instrumental in shaping the United States. Through the stock market, American banks and investors have grown their economy by investing and withdrawing capital from profitable corporations. Today in the era of globalization, American investors and corporations have influence all over the world. The American government is also included among the major investors in the American economy. Government investments have been directed towards public works of scale (such as from the Hoover Dam), military-industrial contracts, and the financial industry.

File:United States GDP per capita.png
Real GDP per capita in the United States

GDP

File:Historical GDP growth of the United States.png
Historical growth of the US economy from 1961-2015

GDP growth

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

The development of the United States' GDP according to World Bank:[106]

GDP by industry

Industries by GDP value added 2011.[107]

Industry GDP value added $ billions 2011  % of total GDP
Real estate, renting, leasing 1,898 13%
State and Local Government 1,336 9%
Finance and insurance 1,159 8%
Health/social care 1,136 8%
Durable manufacturing 910 6%
Retail trade 905 6%
Wholesale trade 845 6%
Non-durable manufacturing 821 6%
Federal Government 658 5%
Information 646 4%
Arts, entertainment 591 4%
Construction 529 4%
Waste services 448 3%
Other services 447 3%
Utilities 297 2%
Mining 290 2%
Corporate management 284 2%
Education services 174 1%
Agriculture 173 1%
Total 13,547 93%

Employment

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

The Percentage of the US working age population employed, 1995–2012.
The United States labor force participation rate from 1948 to 2011 by gender. Men are represented in light blue, women in pink, and the total in black.

There are approximately 154.4 million employed individuals. The US. Government is the largest employment sector with 22 million.[108] Small businesses are the largest employer in the country representing 53% of US workers.[99] The second largest share of employment belongs to large businesses that employ 38% of the US workforce.[99]

The private sector employs 91% of working Americans. Government accounts for 8% of all US workers. Over 99% of all employing organizations in the US are small businesses.[99] The 30 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 64% of newly created jobs (those created minus those lost).[99] Jobs in small businesses accounted for 70% of those created in the last decade.[109]

The proportion of Americans employed by small business versus large business has remained relatively the same year by year as some small businesses become large businesses and just over half of small businesses survive more than 5 years.[99] Amongst large businesses, several of the largest companies and employers in the world are American companies. Amongst them are Walmart, the largest company and the largest private sector employer in the world, which employs 2.1 million people world-wide and 1.4 million in the US alone.[110][111]

United States mean duration of unemployment 1948–2010.

There are nearly 30 million small businesses in the US. Minorities such as Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans (35% of the country's population),[112] own 4.1 million of the country's businesses. Minority-owned businesses generate almost $700 billion in revenue and employ almost 5 million workers in the U.S.[99]

Americans have the highest average employee income among OECD nations.[41] The median household income in the US as of 2008 is $52,029.[114] About 284,000 working people in the US have two full-time jobs and 7.6 million have a part-time job in addition to their full-time employment.[108] Of working individuals in the US, 12% belong to a labor union; most union members are government workers.[108] The decline of union membership in the US over the last several decades parallels the decline of labor's share of the economy.[115][116][117] The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers.[118] The United States is the only advanced economy that does not legally guarantee its workers paid vacation or paid sick days, and is one of just a few countries in the world without paid family leave as a legal right, with the others being Papua New Guinea, Suriname and Liberia.[119][120][121] In 2014, the International Trade Union Confederation graded the U.S a 4 out of 5+, its third lowest score, on the subject of powers and rights granted to labor unions.[122]

Unemployment

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

As of December 2016, the unemployment rate in the United States was 4.7%[123] or 7.5 million people,[124] while the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes the part-time underemployed was 9.2%[125] or 10.2 million people. These figures were calculated with a civilian labor force of approximately 160 million people,[126] relative to a U.S. population of approximately 324 million people.[127]

In 2009 through 2013, following the Great Recession, the emerging problem of jobless recoveries resulted in record levels of long-term unemployment with over 6 million workers looking for work longer than 6 months as of January 2010. This particularly affected older workers.[77] In the year following the recession's end in June 2009 in the United States, immigrants gained 656,000 jobs, while U.S.-born workers lost more than a million jobs.[128]

In April 2010, the official unemployment rate was 9.9%, but the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate was 17.1%.[129] In the period between February 2008 and February 2010, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons has increased by 4 million to 8.8 million, an 83% increase in part-time workers during the two-year period.[130] By 2013, although the unemployment rate had fallen below 8%, the record proportion of long term unemployed and continued decreasing household income remained indicative of a jobless recovery.[131]

After being higher in the postwar period, the U.S. unemployment rate fell below the rising eurozone unemployment rate in the mid-1980s and has remained significantly lower almost continuously since.[132][133][134] In 1955, 55% of Americans worked in services, between 30% and 35% in industry, and between 10% and 15% in agriculture. By 1980, over 65% were employed in services, between 25% and 30% in industry, and less than 5% in agriculture.[135] Male unemployment continued to be significantly higher than female unemployment (9.8% vs. 7.5% in 2009). The unemployment among Caucasians continues to be much lower than African-American unemployment (at 8.5% vs. 15.8% in 2009).[136]

The youth unemployment rate was 18.5% in July 2009, the highest July rate since 1948.[137] The unemployment rate of young African Americans was 28.2% in May 2013.[138] Officially, Detroit's unemployment rate is 27%, but Detroit News suggests that nearly half of this city's working-age population may be unemployed.[139]

Employment by sector

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

All employees, private industries, by branches

United States employment as estimated in 2012, is divided into 79.7% in the service sector, 19.2% in the manufacturing sector and 1.1% in the agriculture sector.[140]

United States non-farm employment by industry sector February 2013.[141]

Industry Employment thousands February 2013 Percent of total employment
Retail trade 15,056 10%
Accommodation and food services 11,965 8%
Professional and technical services 8,024 6%
Administrative and waste service 7,816 5%
Local education 7,758 5%
Ambulatory health care services 6,459 4%
Local government (excluding education) 6,270 4%
Finance and insurance 5,869 4%
Construction 5,784 4%
Wholesale trade 5,736 4%
Hospitals 4,829 3%
Transportation and warehousing 4,472 3%
Non-durable goods manufacturing 4,471 3%
Educational services 3,320 3%
Nursing and residential care 3,209 2%
Membership associations and organizations 2,947 2%
Federal government 2,795 2%
Social assistance 2,710 2%
Information 2,697 2%
State government (excluding education) 2,657 2%
State education 2,361 2%
Management of companies and enterprises 2,022 1%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 1,988 1%
Real estate, rental and leasing 1,974 1%
Personal and laundry services 1,330 1%
Repair and maintenance 1,203 <1%
Mining and logging 869 <1%
Utilities 558 <1%
Durable goods manufacturing 349 <1%

Entrepreneurship

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Tennessee in 1897. The US was a leader in the adoption of electric lighting

The United States has been a leader in technological innovation since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid 20th century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone. Thomas Edison's laboratory developed the phonograph, the first long-lasting light bulb, and the first viable movie camera. Nikola Tesla pioneered the AC induction motor and high frequency power transmission used in radio. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford popularized the assembly line. The Wright brothers, in 1903, made the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight.[142]

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are two of the best-known American entrepreneurs.

American society highly emphasizes entrepreneurship and business. Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity.[143]

The most obvious form of entrepreneurship refers to the process and engagement of starting new businesses (referred to as startup companies); however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity. When entrepreneurship is describing activities within a firm or large organization it is referred to as intra-preneurship and may include corporate venturing, when large entities spin-off organizations.[143]

According to Paul Reynolds, entrepreneurship scholar and creator of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, "by the time they reach their retirement years, half of all working men in the United States probably have a period of self-employment of one or more years; one in four may have engaged in self-employment for six or more years. Participating in a new business creation is a common activity among U.S. workers over the course of their careers."[144] And in recent years, business creation has been documented by scholars such as David Audretsch to be a major driver of economic growth in both the United States and Western Europe.

File:Survival rate of US start-ups, 1977–2012.svg
Survival rate of US start-ups, 1977-2012. Source: US Census Bureau, Business Dynamic Statistics, Published by Gallup, reproduced in UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 5.7, p. 143

Venture capital investment

Venture capital, as an industry, originated in the United States, which it still dominates.[145] According to the National Venture Capital Association 11% of private sector jobs come from venture capital backed companies and venture capital backed revenue accounts for 21% of US GDP.[146]

Total US investment in venture capital amounted to US$48.3 billion in 2014, for 4 356 deals. This represented ‘an increase of 61% in dollars and a 4% increase in deals over the prior year,’ reported the National Venture Capital Association. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that venture capital investment in the United States had fully recovered by 2014 to pre-recession levels. The National Venture Capital Association has reported that, in 2014, venture capital investment in the life sciences was at its highest level since 2008: in biotechnology, $6.0 billion was invested in 470 deals and, in life sciences overall, $8.6 billion in 789 deals (including biotechnology and medical devices). Two-thirds (68%) of the investment in biotechnology went to first-time/early-stage development deals and the remainder to the expansion stage of development (14%), seed-stage companies (11%) and late-stage companies (7%). However, it was the software industry which invested in the greatest number of deals overall: 1 799, for an investment of $19.8 billion. Second came internet-specific companies, garnering US$11.9 billion in investment through 1 005 deals. Many of these companies are based in the State of California, which alone concentrates 28% of US research.[147]

Some new American businesses raise investments from angel investors (venture capitalists). In 2010 healthcare/medical accounted for the largest share of angel investments, with 30% of total angel investments (vs. 17% in 2009), followed by software (16% vs. 19% in 2007), biotech (15% vs. 8% in 2009), industrial/energy (8% vs. 17% in 2009), retail (5% vs. 8% in 2009) and IT services (5%).[148][clarification needed]

Americans are "venturesome consumers" who are unusually willing to try new products of all sorts, and to pester manufacturers to improve their products.[149]

Research and development

File:GERD GDP ratio in the USA, 2002–2013.svg
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D in the USA as a percentage of GDP, 2002-2013. Other countries are given for comparison. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030

The United States of America invests more funds in research and development (R&D) in absolute terms than the other G7 nations combined: 17.2% more in 2012. Since 2000, gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) in the USA has increased by 31.2%, enabling it to maintain its share of GERD among the G7 nations at 54.0% (54.2% in 2000).[147]

Impact of recession on research spending

Generally speaking, US investment in R&D rose with the economy in the first years of the century before receding slightly during the economic recession then rising again as growth resumed. At its peak in 2009, GERD amounted to US$ 406 billion (2.82% of GDP). Despite the recession, it was still at 2.79% in 2012 and will slide only marginally to 2.73% in 2013, according to provisional data, and should remain at a similar level in 2014.[147]

The federal government is the primary funder of basic research, at 52.6% in 2012; state governments, universities and other non-profits funded 26%. Experimental development, on the other hand, is primarily funded by industry: 76.4% to the federal government’s 22.1% in 2012.[147]

File:World shares of GDP, GERD, researchers and publications for the G20, 2009 and 2013.svg
World shares of GDP, research spending, researchers and scientific publications, 2009 and 2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 1.7

While US investment in R&D is high, it failed to reach President Obama’s target of 3% of GDP by the end of his presidency in 2016. American supremacy is eroding in this respect, even as other nations – China, in particular – are carrying their own investment in R&D to new heights. Between 2009 and 2012, the United States' world share of research expenditure receded slightly from 30.5% to 28.1%. Several countries now devote more than 4% of GDP to R&D (Israel, Japan and the Republic of Korea) and others plan to raise their own GERD/GDP ratio to 4% by 2020 (Finland and Sweden).[147]

Business spending on research

Business enterprises contributed 59.1 % of US GERD in 2012, down from 69.0 % in 2000. Private non-profits and foreign entities each contribute a small fraction of total R&D, 3.3% and 3.8% respectively.[147]

File:R&D budget by US agency, 1994–2014.svg
US research and development budget by government agency, 1994-2014. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 5.4, based on data from American Association for the Advancement of Science

The USA has historically been a leader in business R&D and innovation. The economic recession of 2008–2009 has had a lasting impact, however. While the major performers of R&D largely maintained their commitments, the pain of the US recession was felt mainly by small businesses and start-ups. Statistics released by the US Census Bureau showed that, in 2008, the number of business ‘deaths’ began overtaking the number of business ‘births’ and that the trend continued at least through 2012. From 2003 to 2008, business research spending had followed a generally upward trajectory. In 2009, the curve inverted, as expenditure fell by 4% over the previous year then again in 2010, albeit by 1–2% this time. Companies in high-opportunity industries like health care cut back less than those in more mature industries, such as fossil fuels. The largest cutbacks in R&D spending were in agriculture production: -3.5% compared to the average R&D to net sales ratio. The chemicals and allied products industry and electronic equipment industry, on the other hand, showed R&D to net sales ratios that were 3.8% and 4.8% higher than average. Although the amount of R&D spending increased in 2011, it was still below the level of 2008 expenditure. By 2012, the growth rate of business-funded R&D had recovered. Whether this continues will be contingent on the pursuit of economic recovery and growth, levels of federal research funding and the general business climate.[147]

Research spending at the state level

The level of research spending varies considerably from one state to another. Six states (New Mexico, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, California and Michigan) each devoted 3.9% or more of their GDP to R&D in 2010, together contributing 42% of national research expenditure. In 2010, more than one-quarter of R&D was concentrated in California (28.1%), ahead of Massachusetts (5.7%), New Jersey (5.6%), Washington State (5.5%), Michigan (5.4%), Texas (5.2%), Illinois (4.8%), New York (3.6%) and Pennsylvania (3.5%). Seven states (Arkansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Louisiana, South Dakota and Wyoming) devoted less than 0.8% of GDP to R&D.[147]

File:Science and engineering in the USA by state, 2010.svg
Science and engineering in the United States of America by state. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 5.6, based on data from American Association for the Advancement of Science

California is home to Silicon Valley, the name given to the area hosting the leading corporations and start-ups in information technology. This state also hosts dynamic biotechnology clusters in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego. The main biotechnology clusters outside California are the cities of Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts, Maryland, suburban Washington DC, New York, Seattle, Philadelphia and Chicago. California supplies 13.7% of all jobs in science and engineering across the country, more than any other state. Some 5.7% of Californians are employed in these fields. This high share reflects a potent combination of academic excellence and a strong business focus on R&D: the prestigious Stanford University and University of California rub shoulders with Silicon Valley, for instance. In much the same way, Route 128 around Boston in the State of Massachusetts is not only home to numerous high-tech firms and corporations but also hosts the renowned Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[147]

New Mexico’s high research intensity can be explained by the fact that it hosts the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Maryland’s position may reflect the concentration of federally funded research institutions there. Washington State has a high concentration of high-tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing and the engineering functions of most automobile manufacturers are located in the State of Michigan.[147]

Research spending by multinational corporations

The federal government and most of the 50 states that make up the United States offer tax credits to particular industries and companies to encourage them to engage in research and development (R&D). Congress usually renews a tax credit every few years. According to a survey by the Wall Street Journal in 2012, companies do not factor in these credits when making décisions about investing in R&D, since they cannot rely on these credits being renewed.[147]

In 2014, four US multinational coprorations figured in the Top 50 for the volume of expenditure on R&D: Microsoft, Intel, Johnson & Johnson and Google. Several have figured in the Top 20 for at least ten years: Intel, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and IBM. Google was included in this table for the first time in 2013.[147]

Global top 50 companies by R&D volume and intensity, 2014

Rank in 2014 Company Country Field R&D

(€ millions)

Change in rank for R&D, 2004–2014 R&D intensity*
1 Volkswagen Germany Automobiles & parts 11 743 +7 6.0
2 Samsung Electronics Rep. Korea Electronics 10 155 +31 6.5
3 Microsoft USA Computer hardware and software 8 253 +10 13.1
4 Intel USA Semiconductors 7 694 +10 20.1
5 Novartis Switzerland Pharmaceuticals 7 174 +15 17.1
6 Roche Switzerland Pharmaceuticals 7 076 +12 18.6
7 Toyota Motors Japan Automobiles & parts 6 270 -2 3.5
8 Johnson & Johnson USA Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods 5 934 + 4 11.5
9 Google USA Internet-related products and services 5 736 + 173 13.2
10 Daimler Germany Automobiles & parts 5 379 -7 4.6
11 General Motors USA Automobiles & parts 5 221 -5 4.6
12 Merck USA USA Pharmaceuticals 5 165 +17 16.2
13 BMW Germany Automobiles & parts 4 792 +15 6.3
14 Sanofi-Aventis France Pharmaceuticals 4 757 +8 14.4
15 Pfizer USA Pharmaceuticals 4 750 -13 12.7
16 Robert Bosch Germany Engineering and electronics 4 653 +10 10.1
17 Ford Motors USA Automobiles & parts 4 641 -16 4.4
18 Cisco Systems USA Networking equipment 4 564 +13 13.4
19 Siemens Germany Electronics & electrical equipment 4 556 -15 6.0
20 Honda Motors Japan Automobiles & parts 4 367 - 4 5.4
21 Glaxosmithkline UK Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 4 154 -10 13.1
22 IBM USA Computer hardware, middleware & software 4 089 -13 5.7
23 Eli Lilly USA Pharmaceuticals 4 011 +18 23.9
24 Oracle USA Computer hardware & software 3 735 +47 13.5
25 Qualcomm USA Semiconductors, telecommunications equipment 3 602 +112 20.0
26 Huawei China Telecommunications equipment and services 3 589 up > 200 25.6
27 Airbus Netherlands** Aeronautics 3 581 +8 6.0
28 Ericsson Sweden Telecommunications equipment 3 485 -11 13.6
29 Nokia Finland Technology hardware & equipment 3 456 - 9 14.7
30 Nissan Motors Japan Automobiles & parts 3 447 +4 4.8
31 General Electric USA Engineering, electronics & electrical equipment 3 444 +6 3.3
32 Fiat Italy Automobiles & parts 3 362 +12 3.9
33 Panasonic Japan Electronics & electrical equipment 3 297 -26 6.2
34 Bayer Germany Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 3 259 -2 8.1
35 Apple USA Computer hardware & software 3 245 +120 2.6
36 Sony Japan Electronics & electrical equipment 3 209 -21 21.3
37 Astrazeneca UK Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 3 203 -12 17.2
38 Amgen USA Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 2 961 +18 21.9
39 Boehringer Ingelheim Germany Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 2 743 +23 19.5
40 Bristol–Myers Squibb USA Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 2 705 +2 22.8
41 Denso Japan Automobile parts 2 539 +12 9.0
42 Hitachi Japan Technology hardware & equipment 2 420 -18 3.7
43 Alcatel–Lucent France Technology hardware & equipment 2 374 +4 16.4
44 EMC USA Computer software 2 355 +48 14.0
45 Takeda Pharmaceuticals Japan Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology 2 352 +28 20.2
46 SAP Germany Software & computer services 2 282 +23 13.6
47 Hewlett–Packard USA Technology hardware & equipment 2 273 -24 2.8
48 Toshiba Japan Computer hardware 2 269 -18 5.1
49 LG Electronics Korea, Rep. Electronics 2 209 +61 5.5
50 Volvo Sweden Automobiles & parts 2 131 +27 6.9

* R&D intensity is defined as R&D expenditure divided by net sales.

** Although incorporated in the Netherlands, Airbus’s principal manufacturing facilities are located in France, Germany, Spain and the UK.

Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Table 9.3, based on Hernández et. al (2014) EU R&D Scoreboard: the 2014 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. European Commission: Brussels, Table 2.2.

Exports of high-tech goods and patents

File:High-tech exports from the USA as a world share, 2008–2013.svg
High-tech exports from the USA as a percentage of the world share, 2008-2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 5.10, based on Comtrade database

The United States has lost its world leadership for high-tech goods. Even computing and communications equipment is now assembled in China and other emerging economies, with high-tech value-added components being produced elsewhere. Until 2010, the United States was a net exporter of pharmaceuticals but, since 2011, it has become a net importer of these goods. The United States is a post-industrial country. Imports of high-tech products far exceed exports. However, the United States' technologically skilled workforce produces a large volume of patents and can still profit from the license or sale of these patents. Within the United States' scientific industries active in research, 9.1% of products and services are concerned with the licensing of intellectual property rights.[147]

When it comes to trade in intellectual property, the United States remains unrivalled. Income from royalties and licensing amounted to $129.2 billion in 2013, the highest in the world. Japan comes a distant second, with receipts of $31.6 billion in 2013. The United States' payments for use of intellectual property amounted to $39.0 billion in 2013, exceeded only by Ireland ($46.4 billion).[147]

Income and wealth

Year-on-year change in total net worth of US households and nonprofit organizations 1946–2007, unadjusted for inflation or population change.
Net worth in the United States, 2006–2015[150]
Year
Wealth (billions in USD)
2006
66,095
2007
66,577
2008
56,214
2009
58,094
2010
62,316
2011
63,545
2012
69,598
2013
79,383
2014
84,201
2015
87,250

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

As of Q4 2013, total household net worth in the United States is $80.664 trillion, an increase of $9.8 trillion from 2012. Employee compensation amounts to $8.969 trillion, while gross private investment totals $2.781 trillion.[150] The mean net worth of US adults increased to $301,140 in 2013, with the majority being held in financial assets, due to higher activity by shareholders and more private investment.[151] Including human capital such as skills, the United Nations estimated the total wealth of the United States in 2008 to be $118 trillion.[152]

Americans have the highest average household income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007.[40][41] While inflation-adjusted household income had been increasing almost every year from 1945 to 2007, it has since been flat and even decreased recently.[153] U.S. median household income fell from $51,144 in 2010 to $50,502 in 2011.[154] According to one analysis middle class incomes in the United States fell into a tie with those in Canada in 2010, and may have fallen behind by 2014, while several other advanced economies have closed the gap in recent years.[155]

The top 1 percent of income-earners accounted for 95 percent of the income gains from 2009 to 2012,[156] while their share of total income has more than doubled from 9 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2011.[157] According to a 2014 OECD report, 80% of total income growth went to the top 10% from 1975 to 2007.[158] The top 10% wealthiest possess 80% of all financial assets.[159] Wealth inequality in the U.S. is greater than in most developed countries other than Switzerland and Denmark.[160] Inherited wealth may help explain why many Americans who have become rich may have had a "substantial head start".[161][162] In September 2012, according to the Institute for Policy Studies, "over 60 percent" of the Forbes richest 400 Americans "grew up in substantial privilege".[163]

A number of economists and others have expressed growing concern about income inequality, calling it "deeply worrying",[164] unjust,[165] a danger to democracy/social stability,[166][167][168] or a sign of national decline.[169] Yale professor Robert Shiller has said, "The most important problem that we are facing now today, I think, is rising inequality in the United States and elsewhere in the world."[170] Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics argues that the post-1980 increase in inequality played a role in the 2008 crisis by contributing to the nation's financial instability.[171] In 2016, the economists Peter H. Lindert and Jeffrey G. Williamson claimed that inequality is the highest it has been since the nation's founding.[172]

Others disagree, saying there is a lack of evidence that the success of some harms others, and that the inequality issue is a political distraction from what they consider real problems like chronic unemployment and sluggish growth.[173][174] George Mason University economics professor Tyler Cowen has called inequality a "red herring",[175] saying that factors driving its increase within a nation can simultaneously be driving its reduction globally, and arguing that redistributive policies intended to reduce inequality can do more harm than good regarding the real problem of stagnant wages.[176] Robert Lucas Jr. has argued that the salient problem American living standards face is a government that has grown too much, and that recent policy shifts in the direction of European style taxation, welfare spending, and regulation may be indefinitely putting the US on a significantly lower, European level income trajectory.[177][178] Some researchers have disputed the accuracy of the underlying data regarding claims about inequality trends,[179][180] and economists Michael Bordo and Christopher M. Meissner have argued that inequality cannot be blamed for the 2008 financial crisis.[181]

About 30% of the entire world's millionaire population resides in the United States (as of 2009).[182] The Economist Intelligence Unit estimated in 2008 that there were 16,600,000 millionaires in the U.S.[183] Furthermore, 34% of the world's billionaires are American (in 2011).[98][184]

Productivity and real median family income growth, 1947–2009. There has been a widening gap between productivity and median incomes since the 1970s.[185] The primary cause for the gap between productivity and income growth is the decline in per capita hours worked.[186] Other causes include the rise in non-cash benefits as a share of worker compensation (which aren't counted in CPS income data), immigrants entering the labor force, statistical distortions including the use of different inflation adjusters by the BLS and CPS, productivity gains being skewed toward less labor-intensive sectors, income shifting from labor to capital, a skill gap-driven wage disparity, productivity being falsely inflated by hidden technology-driven depreciation increases and import price measurement problems, and/or a natural period of adjustment following an income surge during aberrational postwar circumstances.[173][187][188][189][190]

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, decreased progressiveness in capital gains taxes was the largest contributor to the increase in overall income inequality in the US from 1996 to 2006.[191] According to the Federal Reserve Board, in 2010 single Black and Hispanic women ages 18–64 had a median wealth of $100 and $120 respectively, excluding vehicles, while the median for single white women was $41,500.[192]

As of 2010 The U.S. had the fourth widest income distribution among OECD nations, behind Turkey, Mexico and Chile.[193][194][195] The Brookings Institution said in March 2013 that income inequality was increasing and becoming permanent, sharply reducing social mobility in the US.[196] The OECD ranks the US 10th in social mobility, behind the Nordic countries, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, and France.[197] Of the major developed nations, only Italy and Great Britain have lower mobility.[198] This has been partly attributed to the depth of American poverty, which leaves poor children economically disadvantaged,[199] though others have observed that a relative rise in the U.S. is mathematically harder due to its higher and more widely distributed income range than in nations with artificial income compression, even if one enjoys more absolute mobility in the U.S., and have questioned how meaningful such international comparisons are.[200]

Home ownership

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

The average home in the United States has more than 700 square feet per person, which is 50%–100% more than the average in other high-income countries. Similarly, ownership rates of gadgets and amenities are relatively high compared to other countries.[201][202][203]

Between June 2007 and November 2008 the global recession led to falling asset prices around the world. Assets owned by Americans lost about a quarter of their value.[204] Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth is down $14 trillion.[205] The Fed also said that at the end of 2008, the debt owed by nonfinancial sectors was $33.5 trillion, including household debt valued at $13.8 trillion.[206]

It was reported by Pew Research Center in 2016 that, for the first time in 130 years, Americans aged 18 to 34 are more likely to live with their parents than in any other housing situation.[207] Home ownership is largely out of reach for the majority of young adults.[208]

Profits and wages

Real compensation per hour in the US (1947–2013).

In March 2013, as the stock market's Dow Jones Industrial Average set record highs, household and personal income were both down sharply from their 2007 peaks. In 1970, wages represented more than 51% of the U.S. GDP and profits were less than 5%. But by 2013, wages had fallen to 44% of the economy, while profits had more than doubled to 11%.[209] Inflation-adjusted ("real") per-capita disposable personal income rose steadily in the U.S. from 1945 to 2008, but has since remained generally level.[210][211]

In 2005, median personal income for those over the age of 18 ranged from $3,317 for an unemployed, married Asian American female[212] to $55,935 for a full-time, year-round employed Asian American male.[213] According to the US Census men tended to have higher income than women while Asians and Whites earned more than African Americans and Hispanics. The overall median personal income for all individuals over the age of 18 was $24,062[214] ($32,140 for those age 25 or above) in the year 2005.[215]

The overall median income for all 155 million persons over the age of 15 who worked with earnings in 2005 was $28,567.[216] As a reference point, the minimum wage rate in 2009 was $7.25 per hour or $15,080 for the 2080 hours in a typical work year. The minimum wage is a little more than the poverty level for a single person unit and about 50% of the poverty level for a family of four.

Poverty

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

The gap in income between rich and poor is greater in the United States than in any other developed country.[217] Starting in the 1980s relative poverty rates have consistently exceeded those of other wealthy nations, though analyses using a common data set for comparisons tend to find that the U.S. has a lower absolute poverty rate by market income than most other wealthy nations.[195] Extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, doubled from 1996 levels to 1.5 million households in 2011, including 2.8 million children.[218] In 2013, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels.[219] As of 2015, 44 percent of children in the United States live with low-income families.[220]

In 2014, 14.8 percent of the U.S. population lives in poverty.[221] According to a survey by the Associated Press, four out of five U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives.[222] Feeding America reported in 2014 that 49 million Americans are "food insecure."[223] In June 2016, The IMF warned the United States that its high poverty rate needs to be tackled urgently.[224]

The population in extreme-poverty neighborhoods rose by one-third from 2000 to 2009.[225] People living in such neighborhoods tend to suffer from inadequate access to quality education; higher crime rates; higher rates of physical and psychological ailment; limited access to credit and wealth accumulation; higher prices for goods and services; and constrained access to job opportunities.[225] As of 2013, 44% of America's poor are considered to be in "deep poverty," with an income 50% or more below the government's official poverty line.[226]

There were about 643,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons in the U.S. on a single night in January 2009. Almost two-thirds stayed in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program and the other third were living on the street, in an abandoned building, or another place not meant for human habitation. About 1.56 million people, or about 0.5% of the U.S. population, used an emergency shelter or a transitional housing program between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009.[227] Around 44% of homeless people are employed.[228]

The United States has one of the least extensive social safety nets in the developed world, reducing both relative poverty and absolute poverty by considerably less than the mean for wealthy nations.[229][230][231][232][233] The living standards for the poor in the United States are also among the highest in the world.[195][not in citation given] Others posit that those in poverty live in conditions rivaling the developing world.[234] Over the last three decades the poor in America have been incarcerated at a much higher rate than their counterparts in other developed nations, with penal confinement being "commonplace for poor men of working age."[235] Some scholars contend that the shift to neoliberal social and economic policies starting in the late 1970s has expanded the penal state, retrenched the social welfare state, deregulated the economy and criminalized poverty, ultimately "transforming what it means to be poor in America."[236][237][238]

Financial position

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Assets of the United States as a fraction of GDP 1960–2008
Liabilities of the United States as a fraction of GDP 1960–2009

The overall financial position of the United States as of 2014 includes $269.6 trillion of assets owned by households, businesses, and governments within its borders, representing more than 15.7 times the annual gross domestic product of the United States. Debts owed during this same period amounted to $145.8 trillion, about 8.5 times the annual gross domestic product.[239][240]

Since 2010, the U.S. Treasury has been obtaining negative real interest rates on government debt.[241] Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investments such as insurance companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk.[242][243] Lawrence Summers and others state that at such low rates, government debt borrowing saves taxpayer money, and improves creditworthiness.[244]

In the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the US and UK both reduced their debt burden by about 30% to 40% of GDP per decade by taking advantage of negative real interest rates, but there is no guarantee that government debt rates will continue to stay so low.[242][245] In January 2012, the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association unanimously recommended that government debt be allowed to auction even lower, at negative absolute interest rates.[246]

Now that the connection between public and private debt is better-known,[247][248] U.S. combined debts are worrisome. See Causes of the Great Depression: Debt Deflation.

Composition of economic sectors

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

A wheat harvest in Idaho

The United States is the world's second largest manufacturer, with a 2013 industrial output of US$2.4 trillion. Its manufacturing output is greater than of Germany, France, India, and Brazil combined.[249] Its main industries include petroleum, steel, automobiles, construction machinery, aerospace, agricultural machinery, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, and mining.

The US leads the world in airplane manufacturing,[250] which represents a large portion of US industrial output. American companies such as Boeing, Cessna (see: Textron), Lockheed Martin (see: Skunk Works), and General Dynamics produce a majority of the world's civilian and military aircraft in factories across the United States.

The manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy has experienced substantial job losses over the past several years.[251][252] In January 2004, the number of such jobs stood at 14.3 million, down by 3.0 million jobs, or 17.5 percent, since July 2000 and about 5.2 million since the historical peak in 1979. Employment in manufacturing was its lowest since July 1950.[253] The number of steel workers fell from 500,000 in 1980 to 224,000 in 2000.[254]

File:Survival rate of US start-ups, 1977–2012.svg
Statistics released by the US Census Bureau showed that, in 2008, the number of business 'deaths' began overtaking the number of business 'births' and that the trend continued at least through 2012.[255]

The U.S. produces approximately 18% of the world's manufacturing output, a share that has declined as other nations developed competitive manufacturing industries.[256] The job loss during this continual volume growth is the result of multiple factors including increased productivity, trade, and secular economic trends.[257] In addition, growth in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, aircraft, heavy machinery and other industries along with declines in low end, low skill industries such as clothing, toys, and other simple manufacturing have resulted in some U.S. jobs being more highly skilled and better paying. There has been much debate within the United States on whether the decline in manufacturing jobs are related to American unions, lower foreign wages, or both.[258][259][260]

Although agriculture comprises less than two percent of the economy, the United States is a net exporter of food. With vast tracts of temperate arable land, technologically advanced agribusiness, and agricultural subsidies, the United States controls almost half of world grain exports.[261] Products include wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish.

Notable companies and markets

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

A typical Walmart discount department store (location: Laredo, Texas).

In 2011, the 20 largest U.S.-based companies by revenue were Walmart, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Fannie Mae, General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, Cargill, McKesson Corporation, Bank of America, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Apple Inc., Verizon, JPMorgan Chase, and Cardinal Health.

In 2013, eight of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization were American: Apple Inc., Exxon Mobil, Berkshire Hathaway, Walmart, General Electric, Microsoft, IBM, and Chevron Corporation.[262]

According to Fortune Global 500 2011, the ten largest U.S. employers were Walmart, U.S. Postal Service, IBM, UPS, McDonald's, Target Corporation, Kroger, The Home Depot, General Electric, and Sears Holdings.[263]

Apple, Google, IBM, McDonald's, and Microsoft are the world's five most valuable brands in an index published by Millward Brown.[264]

A 2012 Deloitte report published in STORES magazine indicated that of the world's top 250 largest retailers by retail sales revenue in fiscal year 2010, 32% of those retailers were based in the United States, and those 32% accounted for 41% of the total retail sales revenue of the top 250.[265] Amazon.com is the world's largest online retailer.[266][267][268]

Half of the world's 20 largest semiconductor manufacturers by sales were American-origin in 2011.[269]

Most of the world's largest charitable foundations were founded by Americans.

American producers create nearly all of the world's highest-grossing films. Many of the world's best-selling music artists are based in the United States. U.S. tourism sector welcomes approximately 60 million international visitors every year. In a recent study by Salam Standard, it has been reported that the United States is the biggest beneficiary of global Muslim tourism spend, enjoying 24 per cent share of the total Muslim travel spend worldwide or almost $35 billion.[270]

Forbes top 10 U.S. corporations by revenue

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Top 10 U.S. corporations by revenue in 2013[271]

Rank Corporation Stock ticker[272] Revenue $ millions 2012[271] Profit $ millions 2012[271] Assets 12/31/12[273] Debt ratio 12/31/12[273] Headquarters Employees 2012 Market cap 4/1/13 $ billions[273] Industry
1 Exxon Mobil XOM 454,926 41,060 334 50% Irving, TX 99,100 403 Energy
2 Wal-Mart Stores WMT 446,950 15,699 203 62% Bentonville, AR 2,200,000 246 Retail
3 Chevron CVX 245,621 26,895 233 41% San Ramon, CA 61,189 230 Energy
4 ConocoPhillips COP 245,621 12,436 117 59% Houston, TX 29,800 73 Energy
5 General Motors GM 150,476 9,190 149 76% Detroit, MI 202,000 38 Auto
6 General Electric GE 147,616 14,151 685 82% Fairfield, CT 301,000 240 Diversified
7 Berkshire Hathaway BRKa 143,688 10,254 427 56% Omaha, NE 288,500 259 Diversified
8 Fannie Mae FNMAG 137,451 −16,855 3,221 99% Washington D.C. 7,300 1 Finance
9 Ford Motor F 136,264 20,213 190 91% Dearborn, MI 164,000 50 Auto
10 Hewlett-Packard HPE 127,245 7,074 108 80% Palo Alto, CA 350,610 43 Computers

Energy, transportation, and telecommunications

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

The Interstate Highway System extends 46,876 miles (75,440 km).[274]
The Port of Houston, one of the largest ports in the United States.

The U.S. economy is heavily dependent on road transport for the movement of people and goods. Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operate on a network of 4 million miles (6.4 million km) of public roads,[275] including one of the world's longest highway systems at 57,000 miles (91,700 km).[276] The world's second largest automobile market,[277] the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans.[278] About 40% of personal vehicles are vans, SUVs, or light trucks.[279]

Mass transit accounts for 9% of total U.S. work trips.[280][281] Transport of goods by rail is extensive, though relatively low numbers of passengers (approximately 31 million annually) use intercity rail to travel, partly because of the low population density throughout much of the U.S. interior.[282][283] However, ridership on Amtrak, the national intercity passenger rail system, grew by almost 37% between 2000 and 2010.[284] Also, light rail development has increased in recent years.[285] The state of California is currently constructing the nation's first high-speed rail system.

The civil airline industry is entirely privately owned and has been largely deregulated since 1978, while most major airports are publicly owned.[286] The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; American Airlines is number one after its 2013 acquisition by US Airways.[287] Of the world's 30 busiest passenger airports, 12 are in the United States, including the busiest, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.[288]

The United States is the second largest energy consumer in total use.[289] The U.S. ranks seventh in energy consumption per-capita after Canada and a number of other countries.[290][291] The majority of this energy is derived from fossil fuels: in 2005, it was estimated that 40% of the nation's energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 23% from natural gas. Nuclear power supplied 8.4% and renewable energy supplied 6.8%, which was mainly from hydroelectric dams although other renewables are included.[292]

American dependence on oil imports grew from 24% in 1970 to 65% by the end of 2005.[293] Transportation has the highest consumption rates, accounting for approximately 69% of the oil used in the United States in 2006,[294] and 55% of oil use worldwide as documented in the Hirsch report.

In 2013, the United States imported 2,808 million barrels of crude oil, compared to 3,377 million barrels in 2010.[295] While the U.S. is the largest importer of fuel, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2011 that the country was about to become a net fuel exporter for the first time in 62 years. The paper reported expectations that this would continue until 2020.[296] In fact, petroleum was the major export from the country in 2011.[297]

Internet was developed in the U.S. and the country hosts many of the world's largest hubs.[298]

Finance

The New York Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in the world.

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Measured by value of its listed companies' securities, the New York Stock Exchange is more than three times larger than any other stock exchange in the world.[299] As of October 2008, the combined capitalization of all domestic NYSE listed companies was US$10.1 trillion.[300] NASDAQ is another American stock exchange and the world's 3rd largest exchange after the New York Stock Exchange and Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange. However NASDAQ's trade value is larger than Japan's TSE.[299] NASDAQ is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the U.S. With approximately 3,800 companies and corporations, it has more trading volume per hour than any other stock exchange.[301]

Because of the influential role that the US stock market plays in international finance, a New York University study in late 2014 interprets that in the short run, shocks that affect the willingness to bear risk independently of macroeconomic fundamentals explain most of the variation in the US stock market. In the long run, the US stock market is profoundly affected by shocks that reallocate the rewards of a given level of production between workers and shareholders. Productivity shocks however play a small role in historical stock market fluctuations at all horizons in the US stock market.[302]

The U.S. finance industry comprised only 10% of total non-farm business profits in 1947, but it grew to 50% by 2010. Over the same period, finance industry income as a proportion of GDP rose from 2.5% to 7.5%, and the finance industry's proportion of all corporate income rose from 10% to 20%. The mean earnings per employee hour in finance relative to all other sectors has closely mirrored the share of total U.S. income earned by the top 1% income earners since 1930. The mean salary in New York City's finance industry rose from $80,000 in 1981 to $360,000 in 2011, while average New York City salaries rose from $40,000 to $70,000. In 1988, there were about 12,500 U.S. banks with less than $300 million in deposits, and about 900 with more deposits, but by 2012, there were only 4,200 banks with less than $300 million in deposits in the U.S., and over 1,800 with more.

Top ten U.S. banks by assets

Rank Bank Assets $ millions 12/31/12 Profit $ millions 2012 Headquarters Employees
1 JP Morgan Chase[303] 2,359,000 21,280 New York, NY 258,965
2 Bank of America[303] 2,209,000 4,188 Charlotte, NC 276,600
3 Citigroup[304] 1,865,000 7,415 New York, NY 259,000
4 Wells Fargo[303] 1,422,000 18,890 San Francisco, CA 265,000
5 Goldman Sachs[305] 923,220 7,475 New York, NY 57,726
6 Morgan Stanley[306] 749,890 −117[307] New York, NY 57,726
7 U.S. Bancorp[308] 353,000 5,600 Minneapolis, MN 62,529
8 Bank of NY Mellon[304] 359,301 2,569 New York, NY 48,700
9 HSBC North American Holdings[304] 318,801 N/A New York, NY 43,000
10 Capital One Financial[304] 286,602 3,517 Tysons Corner, VA 35,593

A 2012 International Monetary Fund study concluded that the US financial sector has grown so large that it is slowing economic growth. New York University economist Thomas Philippon supported those findings, estimating that the US spends $300 billion too much on financial services per year, and that the sector needs to shrink by 20%. Harvard University and University of Chicago economists agreed, calculating in 2014 that workers in research and development add $5 to the GDP for each dollar they earn, but finance industry workers cause the GDP to shrink by $0.60 for every dollar they are paid.[309] A study by the Bank for International Settlements reached similar conclusions, saying the finance industry impedes economic growth and research and development based industries.[310]

Health care

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Life expectancy compared to healthcare spending from 1970 to 2008, in the US and the next 19 most wealthy countries by total GDP.[311]

Many distinct organizations provide health care in the US. Facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses. Health insurance for public sector employees is primarily provided by the government. 60–65% of healthcare provision and spending comes from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration. Most of the population under 65 is insured by their or a family member's employer, some buy health insurance on their own, and the remainder are uninsured. On March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) became law, providing for major changes in health insurance.[312] Of 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health in 2013, the United States ranked at or near the top in obesity rate, frequency of automobile use and accidents, homicides, infant mortality rate, incidence of heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, recreational drug or alcohol deaths, injuries, and rates of disability. Together, such lifestyle and societal factors place the U.S. at the bottom of that list for life expectancy. On average, a U.S. male can be expected to live almost four fewer years than those in the top-ranked country, though Americans who reach age 75 live longer than those who reach that age in peer nations.[313]

A comprehensive 2007 study by European doctors found the five-year cancer survival rate was significantly higher in the U.S. than in all 21 European nations studied, 66.3% for men versus the European mean of 47.3% and 62.9% versus 52.8% for women.[314][315] Americans undergo cancer screenings at significantly higher rates than people in other developed countries, and access MRI and CT scans at the highest rate of any OECD nation.[316] People in the U.S. diagnosed with high cholesterol or hypertension access pharmaceutical treatments at higher rates than those diagnosed in other developed nations, and are more likely to successfully control the conditions.[317][318] Diabetics are more likely to receive treatment and meet treatment targets in the U.S. than in Canada, England, or Scotland.[319][320]

The U.S. lags in overall healthcare performance but is a global leader in medical innovation. America solely developed or contributed significantly to 9 of the top 10 most important medical innovations since 1975 as ranked by a 2001 poll of physicians, while the EU and Switzerland together contributed to five. Since 1966, Americans have received more Nobel Prizes in Medicine than the rest of the world combined. From 1989 to 2002, four times more money was invested in private biotechnology companies in America than in Europe.[321][322]

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States spent more on health care per capita ($7,146), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP (15.2%), than any other nation in 2008. In 2010, 49.9 million residents or 16.3% of the population reported not carrying health insurance to the U.S. Census. Of that number 18.3 million had annual household incomes at or greater than $50,000, 9.5 million had household incomes of $75,000 or higher, 16.2 million had household incomes of less than $25,000, 27.2 million were under age 35, and 9.7 million were non-citizens.[323] The Census has stated that its surveys likely underreport insurance coverage. For example, a quality control analysis revealed that 16.9% of those enrolled in Medicaid incorrectly reported being uninsured.[323][324] Analyses have also shown that millions of uninsured are eligible for coverage through programs like Medicaid but have not signed up or have let their enrollments expire.[325] According to Physicians for a National Health Program, this lack of insurance causes roughly 48,000 unnecessary deaths per year.[326] The group's methodology has been criticized by John C. Goodman for not looking at cause of death or tracking insurance status changes over time, including the time of death.[327] A 2009 study by former Clinton policy adviser Richard Kronick found no increased mortality from being uninsured after certain risk factors were controlled for.[328]

The high cost of health care in the United States is attributed variously to technological advance, administration costs, drug pricing, suppliers charging more for medical equipment, the receiving of more medical care than people in other countries, the high wages of doctors, government regulations, the impact of lawsuits, and third party payment systems insulating consumers from the full cost of treatments.[329][330][331] The lowest prices for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and payments to physicians are in government plans. Americans tend to receive more medical care than people do in other countries, which is a notable contributor to higher costs. In the United States, a person is more likely to receive open heart surgery after a heart attack than in other countries. Medicaid pays less than Medicare for many prescription drugs due to the fact Medicaid discounts are set by law, whereas Medicare prices are negotiated by private insurers and drug companies.[330][332] Government plans often pay less than overhead, resulting in healthcare providers shifting the cost to the privately insured through higher prices.[333][334]

International trade

Tree maps
United States Imports Treemap by Product (2014) from MIT Atlas of Economic Complexity
United States Exports Treemap by Product (2014) from MIT Atlas of Economic Complexity

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Protectionist measures since 2008 by country.[335][336]

The United States is the world's second largest trading nation.[337] There is a large amount of U.S. dollars in circulation all around the planet; about 60% of funds used in international trade are U.S. dollars. The dollar is also used as the standard unit of currency in international markets for commodities such as gold and petroleum.[338]

In 2013, U.S. exports goods and services amounted to $2.27 trillion and imports goods and services amounted to $2.74 trillion, with a trade deficit was $450 billion.[74] The deficit on petroleum products was $232 billion. The trade deficit with China was $318 billion in 2013,[339] a new record and up from $304 million in 1983.[340]

File:Imports vs exports & net imports.png
Imports vs exports & net imports

The United States had a $231 billion surplus on trade in services, and $703 billion deficit on trade in goods in 2013.[74] China has expanded its foreign exchange reserves, which included $1.6 trillion of U.S. securities as of 2013.[341] In 2010, the ten largest trading partners of the U.S. were Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, Taiwan, and Brazil.[342]

According to the KOF Index of Globalization and the Globalization Index by A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine, the U.S. has a relatively high degree of globalization. U.S. workers send a third of all remittances in the world.[343]

Balance of trade in the United States in 2015 ($Billions)[344][345]
Product Imports Exports Difference
+/-
Electronic equipment $332.9 $169.8 -$163.1
Machines, engines, pumps $329.3 $205.8 -$123.5
Vehicles $283.8 $127.1 -$146.7
Fuel $201.2 $106.1 -$95.1
Pharmaceuticals $86.1 $47.3 -$38.8
Medical, technical equipment $78.3 $83.4 +$5.1
Furniture, lighting, signs $61.2 $11.5 -$49.7
Gems, precious metals $60.2 $58.7 -$1.5
Organic chemicals $52.1 $38.8 -$13.3
Plastics $50.2 $60.3 +$10.1
Aircraft/Spacecraft $35.3 $131.1 +$95.8
Total of all trade $2.309 Trillion $1.51 Trillion -$799
Imports/ Exports/ Trade Deficits of the United States in 2014 ($Millions) [346][347]
Country Exports Imports Trade Deficit
 China
123,676
446,754
343,078
 European Union
276,142
418,754
142,059
 Germany
49,363
123,260
73,897
 Japan
66,827
134,004
67,117
 Mexico
240,249
294,074
53,825
 Canada
312,421
347,798
35,377
 Saudi Arabia
18,705
47,041
28,336
 Ireland
7,806
33,956
26,150
 Italy
16,968
42,115
25,147
 South Korea
44,471
69,518
25,047
 India
21,608
45,244
23,636
 Malaysia
13,068
30,420
17,352
 France
31,301
46,874
15,573
 Thailand
11,810
27,123
15,313
 Taiwan
26,670
40,581
13,911
  Switzerland
22,176
31,191
9,015
 Israel
15,083
22,962
7,879
 United Kingdom
53,823
54,392
569

Currency and central bank

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

United States historical inflation rate, 1666–2004.

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions.[348] Several countries use it as their official currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency.[349]

The federal government attempts to use both monetary policy (control of the money supply through mechanisms such as changes in interest rates) and fiscal policy (taxes and spending) to maintain low inflation, high economic growth, and low unemployment. A private central bank, known as the Federal Reserve, was formed in 1913 to supposedly provide a stable currency and monetary policy. The U.S. dollar has been regarded as one of the more stable currencies in the world and many nations back their own currency with U.S. dollar reserves.[30][32]

The U.S. dollar has maintained its position as the world's primary reserve currency, although it is gradually being challenged in that role.[350] Almost two-thirds of currency reserves held around the world are held in US dollars, compared to around 25% for the next most popular currency, the Euro.[351] Rising US national debt and quantitative easing has caused some to predict that the US Dollar will lose its status as the world's reserve currency, however these predictions have not come to fruition.[352]

Law and government

Revenue and Expense as % GDP.
Deficit and debt increases 2001–2016.

The United States ranked 4th in the Ease of Doing Business Index in 2012, 18th in the Economic Freedom of the World index by the Fraser Institute in 2012, 10th in the Index of Economic Freedom by the Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation in 2012, 15th in the 2014 Global Enabling Trade Report,[353] and 3rd on the Global Competitiveness Report.[354]

According to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, released by the The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, the US has dropped out of the top 10 most economically free countries. The US has been on a steady 7 year economic freedom decline and is the only country to do so.[355] The index measures each nation's commitment to free enterprise on a scale of 0 to 100. Countries losing economic freedom and receiving low index scores are at risk of economic stagnation, high unemployment rates, and diminishing social conditions.[356][357] The 2014 Index of Economic Freedom gave the United States a score of 75.5 and is listed as the 12th freest economy in world. It dropped two rankings and its score is half a point lower than in 2013.[355]

Regulations

The U.S. federal government regulates private enterprise in numerous ways. Regulation falls into two general categories.

Some efforts seek, either directly or indirectly, to control prices. Traditionally, the government has sought to create state-regulated monopolies such as electric utilities from while allowing prices in the level that would ensure them normal profits. At times, the government has extended economic control to other kinds of industries as well. In the years following the Great Depression, it devised a complex system to stabilize prices for agricultural goods, which tend to fluctuate wildly in response to rapidly changing supply and demand. A number of other industries—trucking and, later, airlines—successfully sought regulation themselves to limit what they considered as harmful price-cutting, a process called regulatory capture.[358]

Another form of economic regulation, antitrust law, seeks to strengthen market forces so that direct regulation is unnecessary. The government—and, sometimes, private parties—have used antitrust law to prohibit practices or mergers that would unduly limit competition.[358]

Bank regulation in the United States is highly fragmented compared to other G10 countries where most countries have only one bank regulator. In the U.S., banking is regulated at both the federal and state level. The U.S. also has one of the most highly regulated banking environments in the world; however, many of the regulations are not soundness related, but are instead focused on privacy, disclosure, fraud prevention, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, anti-usury lending, and promoting lending to lower-income segments.

Since the 1970s, government has also exercised control over private companies to achieve social goals, such as improving the public's health and safety or maintaining a healthy environment. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides and enforces standards for workplace safety, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency provides standards and regulations to maintain air, water, and land resources. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates what drugs may reach the market, and also provides standards of disclosure for food products.[358]

American attitudes about regulation changed substantially during the final three decades of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s, policy makers grew increasingly convinced that economic regulation protected companies at the expense of consumers in industries such as airlines and trucking. At the same time, technological changes spawned new competitors in some industries, such as telecommunications, that once were considered natural monopolies. Both developments led to a succession of laws easing regulation.[358]

While leaders of America's two most influential political parties generally favored economic deregulation during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, there was less agreement concerning regulations designed to achieve social goals. Social regulation had assumed growing importance in the years following the Depression and World War II, and again in the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, the government relaxed labor, consumer and environmental rules based on the idea that such regulation interfered with free enterprise, increased the costs of doing business, and thus contributed to inflation. The response to such changes is mixed; many Americans continued to voice concerns about specific events or trends, prompting the government to issue new regulations in some areas, including environmental protection.[358]

Where legislative channels have been unresponsive, some citizens have turned to the courts to address social issues more quickly. For instance, in the 1990s, individuals, and eventually the government itself, sued tobacco companies over the health risks of cigarette smoking. The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement provided states with long-term payments to cover medical costs to treat smoking-related illnesses.[358]

Between 2000 and 2008, economic regulation in the United States saw the most rapid expansion since the early 1970s.[359] The number of new pages in the Federal Registry, a proxy for economic regulation, rose from 64,438 new pages in 2001 to 78,090 in new pages in 2007, a record amount of regulation.[359] Economically significant regulations, defined as regulations which cost more than $100 million a year, increased by 70%.[359] Spending on regulation increased by 62% from $26.4 billion to $42.7 billion.[359]

Taxation

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

U.S. federal effective tax rates by income percentile and component as projected for 2014 by the Tax Policy Center.[360][361]
CBO estimates of historical effective federal tax rates broken down by income level.[362]

Taxation in the United States is a complex system which may involve payment to at least four different levels of government and many methods of taxation. Taxes are levied by the federal government, by the state governments, and often by local governments, which may include counties, municipalities, township, school districts, and other special-purpose districts, which include fire, utility, and transit districts.[363]

Forms of taxation include taxes on income, property, sales, imports, payroll, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. When taxation by all government levels taken into consideration, the total taxation as percentage of GDP was approximately a quarter of GDP in 2011.[364] Share of black market in the U.S. economy is very low compared to other countries.[365]

Although a federal wealth tax is prohibited by the United States Constitution unless the receipts are distributed to the States by their populations, state and local government property tax amount to a wealth tax on real estate, and because capital gains are taxed on nominal instead of inflation-adjusted profits, the capital gains tax amounts to a wealth tax on the inflation rate.[366]

U.S. taxation is generally progressive, especially at the federal level, and is among the most progressive in the developed world.[362][367][368][369] There is debate over whether taxes should be more or less progressive.[366][370][371][372]

Expenditure

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

File:Total government spending on all levels (United States).png
Federal, state, and local government spending as a % of GDP history
Development of US federal government debt ceiling from 1990 to January 2012.[373]
Fiscal Year 2015 U.S. Federal Spending – Cash or Budget Basis
Fiscal Year 2015 U.S. Federal Receipts

The United States public-sector spending amounts to about 30% of GDP.

Each level of government provides many direct services. The federal government, for example, is responsible for national defense, research that often leads to the development of new products, conducts space exploration, and runs numerous programs designed to help workers develop workplace skills and find jobs (including higher education). Government spending has a significant effect on local and regional economies—and on the overall pace of economic activity.

State governments, meanwhile, are responsible for the construction and maintenance of most highways. State, county, or city governments play the leading role in financing and operating public schools. Local governments are primarily responsible for police and fire protection.

The welfare system in the United States began in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, with the passage of the New Deal. The welfare system was later expanded in the 1960s through Great Society legislation, which included Medicare, Medicaid, the Older Americans Act and federal education funding.

Overall, federal, state, and local spending accounted for almost 28% of gross domestic product in 1998.[374]

As of January 20, 2009, the total U.S. federal debt was $10.63 trillion.[375] The borrowing-cap debt ceiling as of 2005 stood at $8.18 trillion.[376] In March 2006, Congress raised that ceiling an additional $0.79 trillion to $8.97 trillion, which is approximately 68% of GDP.[377] Congress has used this method to deal with an encroaching debt ceiling in previous years, as the federal borrowing limit was raised in 2002 and 2003.[378] As of October 4, 2008, the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008" raised the current debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion.[379]

The federal government's debt rose by $680 billion in 2013,[21] and was at $17.091 trillion in 2014.[380] While the U.S. public debt is the world's largest in absolute size, another measure is its size relative to the nation's GDP. As of October 2013 the debt was 107% of GDP.[381] This debt, as a percent of GDP, is still less than the debt of Japan (192%) and roughly equivalent to those of a few western European nations.[382]

Budget

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

File:Annual Federal Deficit as a percent of GDP.pdf
Annual federal deficit as a percent of GDP

CBO reported in October 2014: "The federal government ran a budget deficit of $486 billion in fiscal year 2014...$195 billion less than the shortfall recorded in fiscal year 2013, and the smallest deficit recorded since 2008. Relative to the size of the economy, that deficit—at an estimated 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)—was slightly below the average experienced over the past 40 years, and 2014 was the fifth consecutive year in which the deficit declined as a percentage of GDP since peaking at 9.8 percent in 2009. By CBO's estimate, revenues were about 9 percent higher and outlays were about 1 percent higher in 2014 than they were in the previous fiscal year."[1]

Fiscal revenue fiscal year 2012 (Total Receipts)[citation needed]

Revenue by source Revenue $ billions 2012 fiscal year Percent of revenue
Individual income taxes 1,165   47.19%
Social Security receipts   841   34.06%
Corporate taxes   237     9.60%
Misc. taxes   105     4.25%
Excise taxes     79     3.20%
Customs and duties     31     1.26%
Estate and gift taxes     11     0.44%
Revenue total 2,469 100.00%

Fiscal expenses fiscal year 2011[383]

Expenses by department Expenses $ millions 2011 fiscal year Percent of expenses
Health and Human Services 891,244 24.76%
Social Security Administration 784,194 21.79%
Defense-Military 678,073 18.84%
Treasury 538,702 14.97%
Agriculture 139,399 3.87%
Labor 131,973 3.67%
Veterans Affairs 126,917 3.53%
Transportation 77,302 2.15%
Office of Personnel Management 74,091 2.06%
Education 65,486 1.82%
Housing and Urban Development 57,005 1.58%
Other Defense Civil Programs 54,862 1.52%
Homeland Security 45,744 1.27%
Energy 31,372 0.87%
Justice 30,518 0.85%
State 24,355 0.68%
International Assistance Programs 24,355 0.68%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 17,617 0.49%
Other independent agencies 14,496 0.40%
Interior 13,529 0.38%
Environmental Protection Agency 10,770 0.30%
Corps of Engineers 10,138 0.28%
Commerce 9,930 0.28%
Judiciary 7,295 0.20%
National Science Foundation 7,146 0.20%
Small Business Administration 6,162 0.17%
Legislative 4,583 0.13%
General Services Administration 1,889 0.05%
Expense total 3,599,285 100%

List of state economies

See also

Sources

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, 141-143, UNESCO Publishing. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. 32.0 32.1 Benjamin J. Cohen, The Future of Money, Princeton University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-691-11666-0; cf. "the dollar is the de facto currency in Cambodia", Charles Agar, Frommer's Vietnam, 2006, ISBN 0-471-79816-9, p. 17
  33. U.S. Economy – Basic Conditions & Resources. U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany. "The United States is said to have a mixed economy because privately owned businesses and government both play important roles." Accessed: October 24, 2011.
  34. (4)Outline of the U.S. Economy – (2)How the U.S. Economy Works. U.S. Embassy Information Resource Center. "As a result, the American economy is perhaps better described as a "mixed" economy, with government playing an important role along with private enterprise. Although Americans often disagree about exactly where to draw the line between their beliefs in both free enterprise and government management, the mixed economy they have developed has been remarkably successful." Accessed: October 24, 2011.
  35. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. Wright, Gavin, and Jesse Czelusta, "Resource-Based Growth Past and Present", in Natural Resources: Neither Curse Nor Destiny, ed. Daniel Lederman and William Maloney (World Bank, 2007), p. 185. ISBN 0-8213-6545-2.
  38. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. 40.0 40.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. 42.0 42.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Number of companies data taken from the "Country" box.
  48. Table A – Market Capitalization of the World's Top Stock Exchanges (As at end of June 2012). Securities and Exchange Commission (China). Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  49. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. Adapting and evolving - Global venture capital insights and trends 2014. EY, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2015
  52. [1].
  53. 53.0 53.1 "Personal consumption expenditures (PCE)/gross domestic product (GDP)" FRED Graph, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
  54. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. W. J. Rorabaugh, Donald T. Critchlow, Paula C. Baker (2004). America's promise: A Concise History of the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 210. ISBN
  62. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. in Gordon 1986, pp. 743–745[clarification needed]
  63. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. Steven Mintz and Susan Kellogg, Domestic Revolutions: a Social History of American Family Life (1988) ch 9
  67. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. 71.0 71.1 71.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. 72.0 72.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. 74.0 74.1 74.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. Bivens, L. Josh (December 14, 2004). Debt and the dollar Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved on July 8, 2007.
  77. 77.0 77.1 "Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs" article by Peter S. Goodman in The New York Times February 20, 2010
  78. Associated Press (January 30, 2006).US savings rate hits lowest level since 1933MSNBC. Retrieved on May 6, 2007.
  79. Cauchon, Dennis and John Waggoner (October 3, 2004). The Looming National Benefit Crisis. USA Today
  80. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  81. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  82. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  83. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  84. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  85. FY 2010 Budget Historical Tables Pages 127–128. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  86. "US spends its way to 28 Eiffel towers: made out of pure gold". The Times. March 17, 2006.
  87. "Senate backs increase in debt limit to $14.3 trillion". Reuters. January 28, 2010.
  88. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  89. "Debt has become America's life blood". Abc.net.au. December 15, 2009.
  90. "Wave of Debt Payments Facing US Government". The New York Times. November 22, 2009.
  91. "Analytical Perspectives of the FY 2008 Budget".
  92. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  93. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  94. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  95. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  96. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  97. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  98. 98.0 98.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  99. 99.0 99.1 99.2 99.3 99.4 99.5 99.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  100. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  101. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  102. U.S. Department of state: How the U.S. Economy Works Retrieved December 1, 2008
  103. "Trends in International Migration 2002: Continuous Reporting System on Migration". Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (2003). OECD Publishing. p.280. ISBN 92-64-19949-7
  104. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  105. "An Introduction to Bilingualism: Principles and Processes". Jeanette Altarriba, Roberto R. Heredia (2008). p.212. ISBN 0-8058-5135-6
  106. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  107. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  108. 108.0 108.1 108.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  109. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  110. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  111. Walmart Corporate and Financial Facts. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  112. "Minority population growing in the United States, census estimates show". Los Angeles Times. June 10, 2010.
  113. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  114. Median Household Income for States: 2007 and 2008, September 2009, census.gov.
  115. Doree Armstrong (February 12, 2014). Jake Rosenfeld explores the sharp decline of union membership, influence. UW Today. Retrieved December 19, 2014. See also: Jake Rosenfeld (2014) What Unions No Longer Do. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674725115
  116. Keith Naughton, Lynn Doan and Jeffrey Green (February 20, 2015). As the Rich Get Richer, Unions Are Poised for Comeback. Bloomberg. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
    • "A 2011 study drew a link between the decline in union membership since 1973 and expanding wage disparity. Those trends have since continued, said Bruce Western, a professor of sociology at Harvard University who co-authored the study."
  117. Michael Hiltzik (March 25, 2015). IMF agrees: Decline of union power has increased income inequality. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  118. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  119. Rebecca Ray, Milla Sanes, and John Schmitt (May 2013). No-Vacation Nation Revisited. Center for Economic and Policy Research. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  120. Tara Siegel Bernard (February 22, 2013). In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe. The New York Times Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  121. Maxwell Strachan, Alissa Scheller, Jan Diehm (October 29, 2013). 15 Ways The United States Is The Best (At Being The Worst). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 November 2013 2013.
  122. Ishaan Tharoor (May 20, 2014). MAP: The worst places in the world to be a worker. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2014; see also: ITUC Global Rights Index.
  123. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  124. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  125. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  126. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  127. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  128. "Immigrants top native born in U.S. job hunt". CNNMoney.com. October 29, 2010.
  129. "Broader U-6 Unemployment Rate Increases to 17.1% in April". The Wall Street Journal. May 7, 2010.
  130. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  131. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  132. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  133. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  134. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  135. Time-Life Books, Library of Nations: United States, Sixth European English language printing, 1989
  136. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  137. "Employment and Unemployment Among Youth Summary". United States Department of Labor. August 27, 2009.
  138. "The Unemployment News Is Worse For Many". Forbes. June 7, 2013.
  139. "Nearly half of Detroit's workers are unemployed". The Detroit News. December 16, 2009.
  140. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  141. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  142. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  143. 143.0 143.1 Shane, Scott "A General Theory of Entrepreneurship: the Individual-Opportunity Nexus", Edward Elgar
  144. Reynolds, Paul D. "Entrepreneurship in the United States", Springer, 2007, ISBN 978-0-387-45667-6
  145. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  146. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  147. 147.00 147.01 147.02 147.03 147.04 147.05 147.06 147.07 147.08 147.09 147.10 147.11 147.12 147.13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  148. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  149. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  150. 150.0 150.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  151. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  152. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  153. "The Most Important Chart in American Politics" Time, February 4, 2013
  154. "Household Income for States: 2010 and 2011" United States Census, American Community Survey Briefs, September 2012, Appendix Table 1, page 5
  155. David Leonhardt and Kevin Quealy (April 22, 2014). The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World's Richest. The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  156. Saez, Emmanuel (September 3, 2013). "Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  157. Alvaredo, Facundo; Atkinson, Anthony B.; Piketty, Thomas; Saez, Emmanuel (2013). "The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Perspective". Journal of Economic Perspectives. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  158. Focus on Top Incomes and Taxation in OECD Countries: Was the crisis a game changer? OECD, May 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  159. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  160. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  161. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  162. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  163. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  164. White House: Here's Why You Have To Care About Inequality Timothy Noah | tnr.com| January 13, 2012
  165. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  166. Oligarchy, American Style By PAUL KRUGMAN. November 3, 2011
  167. Gilens & Page (2014) Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, Perspectives on Politics, Princeton University. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  168. Piketty, Thomas (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Belknap Press. ISBN 067443000X p. 514:*"the risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed."
  169. "The Broken Contract", By George Packer, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2011
  170. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  171. Piketty, Thomas (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Belknap Press. ISBN 067443000X pp. 297–298.
  172. Jeff Guo (July 1, 2016). Income inequality today may be higher today than in any other era. The Washington Post Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  173. 173.0 173.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  174. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  175. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  176. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  177. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  178. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  179. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  180. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  181. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  182. World Wealth Report 2010
  183. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. Volume 5: Evolving Fortunes. Barclays (2008). p. 7
  184. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  185. Mishel, Lawrence (April 26, 2012). The wedges between productivity and median compensation growth. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  186. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  187. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  188. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  189. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  190. Global wage growth stagnates, lags behind pre-crisis rates, ILO, December 5, 2014
  191. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  192. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Table 1 (page 7) citing the Fed's 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances.
  193. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  194. Compare your country: Income distribution and poverty. OECD.
  195. 195.0 195.1 195.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  196. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  197. Dave Serchuk. Happy Country=Social Mobility? Forbes. Jul 12, 2011
  198. Steve Hargreaves (December 18, 2013). The myth of the American Dream. CNN. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  199. DeParle, Jason (January 4, 2012). Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs. The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  200. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  201. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  202. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  203. W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm (1999), The myths of rich and poor: why we're better off than we think. New York: Basic Books
  204. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  205. "Americans' wealth drops $1.3 trillion". CNN. June 11, 2009
  206. U.S. household wealth falls $11.2 trillion in 2008. Reuters. March 12, 2009
  207. Millennials aren't buying homes right now. What if they never do? The Guardian. 27 May 2016.
  208. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  209. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  210. "Real Disposable Personal Income: Per capita" Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2013
  211. "The Rich Are Enjoying The Recovery While Wages Fall For Everyone Else" ThinkProgress, January 25, 2013
  212. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  213. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  214. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  215. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  216. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  217. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  218. "Extreme Poverty in the United States, 1996 to 2011" National Poverty Center, February 2012
  219. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  220. Report finds 44 percent of U.S. children live in low-income families. PBS Newshour. April 6, 2015.
  221. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  222. Yen, Hope (28 July 2013). 80 Percent Of U.S. Adults Face Near-Poverty, Unemployment: Survey. The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  223. Marisol Bello (April 16, 2014). Hunger is a 'silent crisis' in the USA. USA Today. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  224. IMF warns the US over high poverty. BBC, 22 June 2016.
  225. 225.0 225.1 Kneebone, Elizabeth; Nadeau, Carey; Berube, Alan (November 3, 2011). "The Re-Emergence of Concentrated Poverty: Metropolitan Trends in the 2000s". Brookings Institution. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  226. Shah, Neil (October 11, 2013).U.S. Poverty Rate Stabilizes—For Some. The Wall Street Journal (New York). Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  227. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  228. Employment and Homelessness. National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009.
  229. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  230. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  231. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  232. Kevin Drum (September 26, 2013). We Can Reduce Poverty If We Want To. We Just Have To Want To. Mother Jones. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  233. Gould, Elise and Wething, Hilary (July 24, 2012). "U.S. poverty rates higher, safety net weaker than in peer countries." Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  234. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  235. Bruce Western. Poverty Politics and Crime Control in Europe and America. Contemporary Sociology Vol. 40, No. 3 (May 2011), pp. 283–286
  236. Stephen Haymes, Maria Vidal de Haymes and Reuben Miller (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States, (London: Routledge, 2015), ISBN 0415673445, pp. 3 & 346.
  237. Loïc Wacquant, Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity, (Duke University Press, 2009), ISBN 082234422X, pp. 125-126 & 312
  238. Marie Gottschalk. Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics. Princeton University Press, 2014. ISBN 0691164053 p. 10
  239. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  240. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  241. Saint Louis Federal Reserve (2012) "5-Year Treasury Inflation-Indexed Security, Constant Maturity" FRED Economic Data chart from government debt auctions (the x-axis at y=0 represents the inflation rate over the life of the security)
  242. 242.0 242.1 Carmen M. Reinhart and M. Belen Sbrancia (March 2011) "The Liquidation of Government Debt" National Bureau of Economic Research working paper No. 16893
  243. David Wessel (August 8, 2012) "When Interest Rates Turn Upside Down" Wall Street Journal (full text)
  244. Lawrence Summers (June 3, 2012) "Breaking the negative feedback loop" Reuters
  245. William H. Gross (May 2, 2011) "The Caine Mutiny (Part 2)" PIMCO Investment Outlook
  246. U.S. Treasury (January 31, 2012) "Minutes of the Meeting of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association"
  247. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  248. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  249. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  250. http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/aviation_worldbook.html[full citation needed]
  251. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  252. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  253. What Accounts for the Decline in Manufacturing Employment?, Congressional Budget Office February 18, 2004
  254. "Congressional Record V. 148, Pt. 4, April 11, 2002 to April 24, 2002". United States Government Printing Office.
  255. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  256. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  257. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  258. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  259. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Part 2. Part 3.
  260. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  261. "The Food Bubble Economy". The Institute of Science in Society.
  262. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  263. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  264. Apple usurps Google as world's most valuable brand
  265. Deloitte, Switching Channels: Global Powers of Retailing 2012, STORES, January 2012, G20.
  266. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  267. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  268. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  269. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  270. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  271. 271.0 271.1 271.2 Fortune 500 2013: Annual ranking of America's largest corporations from Fortune Magazine
  272. Investing.com - Stock Market Quotes & Financial News
  273. 273.0 273.1 273.2 Yahoo! Finance – Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News. Finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
  274. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  275. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  276. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  277. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  278. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  279. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  280. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  281. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  282. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  283. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  284. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  285. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  286. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  287. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  288. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  289. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  290. World Per Capita Total Primary Energy Consumption,1980–2005 (MS Excel format)
  291. World Resources Institute "Energy Consumption: Consumption per capita" (2001). Nations with higher per-capita consumption are: Qatar, Iceland, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Luxembourg and Canada. Except for Canada, these are small countries with a prominent energy-intensive industry such as oil refining or steelmaking.
  292. US Dept. of Energy, "Annual Energy Report" (July 2006), Energy Flow diagram
  293. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  294. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  295. "U.S. Imports of Crude Oil". U.S. Census Bureau.
  296. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  297. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  298. "IPTO – Information Processing Techniques Office", The Living Internet, Bill Stewart (ed), January 2000.
  299. 299.0 299.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  300. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  301. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  302. Origins of Stock Market Fluctuations. New York University, December 16, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  303. 303.0 303.1 303.2 Stock quotes, investing & personal finance, news – MSN Money. Money.msn.com (December 31, 1999). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  304. 304.0 304.1 304.2 304.3 secdatabase.com
  305. Investor Relations. Goldman Sachs. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
  306. Investor Relations. Morgan Stanley. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
  307. Morgan Stanley Q4 2012 Earnings
  308. Financial and investor information from. U.S. Bank. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
  309. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  310. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  311. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  312. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  313. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  314. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  315. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  316. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  317. Atlas 2011, pp. 205–207
  318. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  319. Atlas 2011, pp. 150–156
  320. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  321. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  322. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  323. 323.0 323.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  324. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  325. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  326. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  327. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  328. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  329. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  330. 330.0 330.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  331. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  332. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  333. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  334. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  335. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  336. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  337. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  338. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  339. "Doug Palmer: U.S. trade gap with China cost 2.7 million jobs: study. Reuters, August 23, 2012.
  340. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  341. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  342. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  343. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  344. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  345. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  346. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  347. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  348. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  349. Benjamin J. Cohen, The Future of Money, Princeton University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-691-11666-0; cf. "the dollar is the de facto currency in Cambodia", Charles Agar, Frommer's Vietnam, 2006, ISBN 0-471-79816-9, p. 17
  350. "Biggest game in town". BBC News. January 29, 2009.
  351. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  352. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  353. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  354. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  355. 355.0 355.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  356. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  357. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  358. 358.0 358.1 358.2 358.3 358.4 358.5 Regulation and Control in the U.S. Economy: About.com
  359. 359.0 359.1 359.2 359.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  360. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  361. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  362. 362.0 362.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  363. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  364. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  365. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  366. 366.0 366.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  367. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  368. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  369. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  370. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  371. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  372. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  373. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  374. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  375. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  376. Republicans Adopt Budget Resolution
  377. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  378. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  379. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  380. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  381. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  382. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  383. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links