自学考试英美国家概况302317第十八章Word格式文档下载.docx
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tronics.Itproducesamajorportionoftheworld'
smachinery,auto-
I
mobiles,oil,electricalenergy,andchemicals,althoughitsshareis
decreasingrapidly.ThevalueofAmericanexportsincreasedfrom
$97billioninthe70sto$393.5billionin1990,andthevalueof
importsrosefrom$100billionto$495.3billionduringthesame
period.America'
sGrossNationalProduct(GNP)rosefrom2,626
billionin1981to$5,465billionin1990andthepercapitaincome
rosefrom$10,949to$19,220inthesameperiod.NowAmerica
hasmorethanhalfoftheEuropeanmarketintransistors,-oilrefin-
ing,farmproducts,telecommunications,andcomputers.The
Americanpeopleenjoyabetterstandardoflivingthanmostofthe
nationsintheWOTId.
TheUnitedStateshaslessthan6%oftheworld'
spopulation.
Yetitproducesabout25%ofthetotalworldoutput.Ithasexperi-
encedremark4bleeconomicgrowth.Theachievementhasnotcome
aboutsimplybychance.Thisfastgrowthhasbeenattributableto
manyfactors.First,thegeographicallocation.oftheUnitedStates
providesverygoodconditionsforthecountrytogrowandbecome
strong.Second,theUnitedStateshasbeenblessedbybeingaland
300
-
richinmineralresourcesandfertilefarmsoil,togetherwithamod-
erateclimate.Third,Americahasbeenfortunateinhavingenough
peopletoprovidethelabournecessaryforaconstantlyexpandinge-
conomy.Afourthfactoristhequalityofavailablelabour-TheUnit-
edStateshasaskilfulandwillinglabourforce.TheAmericanlabour
forceisnotonlyhard-working,butalsowillingtoexperiment,to
changeandtolearnnewtechnologies.
LTheEconomicSystemoftheUnitedStates
TheUnitedStateshasafree-marketeconomywithadominant
privatesector.Theprivatelyownedandoperatedbusinesses,includ-
ingfarms,produceabout85%ofthetotaloutputofgoodsandser-
vices.Peopleinindependentprofessionalpractice,suchasdoctors,
lawyersandaccountants,produceabout3%ofthetotal.Govem-
mententerprisesaccountfortherest.Industriessuchascoal,steel,
motorvehicleandshipbuilding,areallprivatelyowned.Thepostal
service(butnotthetelephone).theroadsystemand,ofcourse,na-
tionaldefensearegovernment-runatthefederal,stateor/andlocal
levels.Only25%ofelectricityandrailwaysarestate-owned.Inthe
UnitedStatesprivateownershipaccountsforalargershareofthee-
conomythaninanyotherdevelopedcountry.
However,thegovernmenthasalwaysbeenanimportantelement
intheAmericaneconomy.Traditionally,leadersoftheUSgovern-
menthavebeenreluctanttobecomeinvolvedintheprivatesector,
exceptfortransportation.Thisattitudebegantochangeduringthe
latterpartofthe19thcentury,whenfarmandlabourmovements
begantoaskthegovernmenttointercedeontheirbehalf.Aftera
periodofprosperity(1920-1929),governmentinvolvementinthe
301
economyincreasedduringtheGreatDepression(1929-1937).Gov-
ernmentundertookmassivepublicworksprogramsandthecomplete
overhaulandregulationofbankingtohelptheeconomytorecover.
Inthepostwaryearsgovernmentinvolvementwasagainemphasized
whentheUnitedStatesadoptedtheKeynesiantheoryinrunningthe
economy.However,bytheendofthe1970s,economicgrowthhad
decreased.Unemploymentandinflationhadcontinuedtorise.The
Americaneconomywasplaguedbystagflation.Intheearly1980s,
undertheReaganAdministration,thetraditionalKeynesianap-
proachwasreplacedbynewmonetaristpolicies.Suchpoliciessought
tofightinflationbyincreasingsupplyandreducingdemand.Onthe
onehand,taxeswerecuttoincreaseeconomicdynamism.Onthe
otherhand,interestrateswereraisedtoreducethesupplyofmon-
ey.ThesepolicieslastedforabouttenyearsintheUnitedStates.As
.aresult,inflationandunemploymentwerebroughtundercontrol.
However,theseeconomicpoliciesalsoledtoabigincreaseinpublic
borrowingandtradedeficit.ApartfromstagnationtheAmericane-
conomyisnowfacinganotherproblemofincreasingforeigndebts
andtradedeficit.
TheAmericaneconomyischaracterizedbyahighdegreeof
monopoly.Manyofthenation-'
sbasicindustriesarerepresentedby
onlyafewmajorcorporations.Forexample,intheautomobilein-
dustrythere-arethreegiants.TheyareGeneralMotors,Fordand
Chrysler.Inthefieldofelectricalsupplies,GeneralElectriccontrolsa
majorshareofthebusiness.Incomputers,InternationalBusiness
Machineshasthedominantposition.Inrecentyearsmanyco