Economy

Overview

The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, aims to control expansion of the money supply in a way that prevents inflation. (Karen Bleier/ AFP/Getty Images)

The United States entered the 21st century with an economy that was bigger, and by many measures more successful, than ever. Though the United States held less than 5 percent of the world's population, it accounted for more than 25 percent of the world's economic output. In the 1990s, the American economy recorded the longest uninterrupted period of expansion in its history. A wave of technological innovations in computing, telecommunications, and the biological sciences were profoundly affecting how Americans work and play.

The United States remains a "market economy." Americans continue to believe that an economy generally operates best when decisions about what to produce and what prices to charge for goods are made through the give-and-take of millions of independent buyers and sellers, not by government or by powerful private interests.

Besides believing that free markets promote economic efficiency, Americans see them as a way of promoting their political values as well -- especially, their commitment to individual freedom and political pluralism and their opposition to undue concentrations of power. The American belief in "free enterprise" has not precluded a major role for government, however. Americans at times have looked to government to break up or regulate companies. that appeared to be developing so much power that they could defy market forces. They have relied on government to address matters the private economy overlooks, from education to protecting the environment. And despite their advocacy of market principles, they have used government at times to nurture new industries, and at times even to protect American companies from competition.

Online Reading

General

USA Economy in Brief (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, July 2007) (PDF file, 3.75MB)

An Outline of the U.S. Economy (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Feb 2001)(PDF file, 555KB)

Portrait of the USA: The Business of America (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Sept 1997)(PDF file, 55KB)

The Beige Book: Current Economic Conditions

Agriculture

Business

Entrepreneurship and Small Business (Electronic Journal, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Jan 2006) (PDF file, 1.55MB)

Principles of Entrepreneurship (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Nov 2007)(PDF file, 2.42MB)

Promoting Growth Through Corporate Governance (Electronic Journal, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Feb 2005) (PDF file, 1.12MB)

Small Business and the Corporation (Chapter 4, An Outline of the U.S. Economy, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Feb 2001)(PDF file, 495KB)

Finance

Foreign Aid

Labor

Report on the American Workforce (published by the U.S. Department of Labor)(PDF file, 1.09MB)

Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition (published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor)

Occupational Employment Projections to 2010 (article from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor)(PDF file, 224KB)

Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2007 Edition) (published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor)

Americans with Disabilities Act: Questions and Answers (published by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

Trade

Benefits of Trade: Costs of Protectionism (Electronic Journal, Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Jan 2007) (PDF file, 2.84MB)

The Language of Trade (published by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, July 2000)(PDF file, 751KB)

Trade Agreements: Impact on the U.S. Economy (CRS Report, updated Feb 6, 2008)(PDF file, 159KB)

USTR Reports and Publications Home (Office of the United States Trade Representative)