United States: Economic and Political Outline

Economic Overview

The United States is the largest and most powerful economy in the world. Nevertheless, it was the first to suffer from the consequences of the financial crisis in 2009. The country experienced the worst recession since the crisis of the 1930s, the economy shrinking by 2.6% in 2009. Thanks to the government’s large-scale budget and monetary stimulus plan, which among others stimulated household consumption, the economy recovered in 2010, with a growth of 3%. In 2011, the growed again slowed down as a result of the downturn in private investment, a drop in exports and the growth in public spending. A weak growth is expected for 2012 due to the risk of contagion coming from the eurozone crisis.

The U.S. economy recovered,  albeit weakly, from the 2009 crisis and the government plans a gradual withdrawal of tax incentives. Priority is given to fiscal consolidation and to debt management. The government had already set a goal of reducing the federal deficit by more than 10% in 2010, to 3% in 2015, counting on doubling the exports in the next five years. In a pre-election context, the economic climate is affected by the contrast between the Democrats, advocating a tax increase for the more affluent classes, and the Republicans, relying on spending cuts. in April, the blockage led the rating agency Standard & Poor's to lower its long-term perspective for the U.S. The continued fall in property prices and the unfavorable international economic situation has provoked fears of a new recession. Since the financial crisis, priority is given to regulating and supervising the financial markets. Finally, population aging poses additional challenges in terms of healthcare spending.

Following the crisis, the unemployment benefits shows a strong upward trend, reaching 9.9% in October 2009. Although it has since decreased, the level of unemployment remains high about its pre-crisis level. In addition, since the 1980s we see a growth in social inequality.

Main Sectors of Industry

The American agricultural sector is without a doub the biggest in the world. It is characterized by high productivity and by the use of modern technologies. The United States is one of the major producers of corn, soya, beef and cotton. California alone produces more than 12% of the country's total agricultural production. Nevertheless, agriculture only accounts for 1% of the American GNP.

The United States is a highly industrialized country. The industrial sector contributes almost a quarter of the GDP and includes a large variety of activities. The most significant are the manufacturing of electric and electronic machinery, chemical products, industrial machinery, the food industry and automobile sectors. It is also the world leader in aerospace and pharmaceutical industries. The abandunce of natural resouces has turned the United States into a leader in the production of several minerals and allows it to maintain a diversified production. It is thus the biggest world producer of liquid natural gas, aluminum, electricity and nuclear energy. It is the third oil producer in the world.

The American economy is essentially based on services. The tertiary sector accounts for more than three-fourths of the GDP and of the workforce.

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:

77.8/100

Position:

Mostly free

World Rank:

9/179

Regional Rank:

2/3

Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation

Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.

Sources of General Economic Information

Ministries

Federal Trade Commission, US customs, Department of State
US Department of Labor
US Department of Agriculture
International Trade Administration

Statistical Office

US Census Bureau

Central Bank

The Federal Reserve

Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange- Euronext
American Stock Exchange
Philadelphia Stock Exchange
Boston Stock Exchange
Chicago Stock Exchange
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Chicago Board Options Exchange
Minneapolis Grain Exchange
Kansas City Board of Trade
NASDAQ

Other Useful Resources

US bureau of Economic Analysis

Main Online Newspapers

New York Times
Washington Post
USA Today
Wall Street Journal
Philadelphia Online
Los Angleles Times
Chicago Tribune
The San Francisco Chronicle
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Boston Globe
Miami Herald
Cincinnati Enquirer

Economic Portals

National Bureau of Economic Research
Bureau of census
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Economic Statistics

Political Outline

Type of State

A federal republic state based on representative democracy with three equally powerful branches of government. United States has 50 states which are largely self governing and semi-sovereign entities.

Executive Power

President is both the chief of state and the head of the government. President is elected by an electoral college (who are elected directly from each state) to serve a four-year term. President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
These powers are checked by parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the President subject to approval by the senat.

Legislative Power

The legislature is bicameral in the United States. The Congress consists of Senate (the upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). The Senate has the power to confirm or reject presidential appointments and to ratify treaties; the House of Representatives has the sole right to initiate revenue bills, although they may be amended or rejected by the Senate. President has the power to veto the legislation passed by the Congress. The Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote.

Main Political Parties

The United States has a two-party system :
- Democratic Party : the oldest political party in the world (established in 1820s) with a liberal, pro-working class Philosophy;
- Republican Party : established in 1854, socially conservative but economically more liberal, favors free-market economy and capitalism.

Current Political Leaders

President: Barack Obama (since January 2009): Democrat Party

Next Election Dates

Presidential: November 2012
ongress: November 2012

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:

47/179

Evolution:

27 places down compared to 2010

Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders

Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).