自学考试英美国家概况302317第十八章.docx

自学考试英美国家概况302317第十八章.docx

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自学考试英美国家概况302317第十八章

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Chapter

18

The,Economy

TheUnited*Statesisbyfarthebiggestindustrialcountryinthe

world.Itisbothaneconomicandtechnologicalgiant.Itisfirstin

suchadvancedfieldsascomputers,space,nuclearenergy,andelec-

.

tronics.Itproducesamajorportionoftheworld'smachinery,auto-

I

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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