History of the US Economy
The following brief text provides an overview of the history and evolution of the US economy from the early 1900s (and even earlier). We have seen a changing structure of the goods we produce, who produces them, with whom we trade them and our relationship with other nations.Click on each section of the reading, Starting with Continuity and Change” and read each. Answer the accompanying questions as you read. (You will submit the answers in the following online assignment link.)Continuity and Change(Links to an external site. https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap1.htm )How the U.S. Economy Works(Links to an external site.https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap2.htm)1.List the factors of production.2.What is human capital? How is this different from physical capital?3.Explain how the US is a mixed economy.4.The governments role in a mixed economy is both to stabilization the economys output and its growth. It did so during the Great Depression and then later through Fiscal Policy. It also participates in the economy by regulating and controlling (direct services and direct assistance). Provide an example of each.The U.S. Economy: A Brief History(Links to an external site. https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap3.htm )1.Why was farming important before the Industrial Revolution?2.How did westward expansion and the development of the railroad create the infrastructure for the Industrial Revolution?3.Explain how the Industrial Revolution changed the structure of business and society?Small Business and the Corporation(Links to an external site. , Commodities, and Markets(Links to an external site.https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap5.htm)The Role of the Government in the Economy(Links to an external site.https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap6.htm)1.Describe the structure of small business and corporations in the US.2.How do Corporations raise the necessary funds for Investment of capital goods to expand?3.What has happened to the structure and size of businesses over the last 100 years?4.What has the government done to limit the power of business in the US economy, if anything at all?Monetary and Fiscal Policy(Links to an external site. https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap7.htm )1.John Maynard Keynes was the first economist to argue for what type of government intervention? Explain his policy proposals carefully.2.Fiscal Policy is summarized by the governments budget or the tax revenue that the government earns and then subtracting the governments spending. What is the largest source of tax revenue for the federal government?3.Government Spending has two categories: government purchases on new physical assets and transfer payments where the government takes income from one group of individuals and transfers it to another group of individuals. Provide several examples of government purchases and transfers.4.What is stagflation? Why did stagflation during the 1970s make policymakers second-guess Keynesian policies?5.What is the purpose of the Federal Reserve? What is the dual mandate given to the FED?6.What is the structure of the Federal Reserve?7.How are individuals chosen to serve on the FED?8.What are the three tools of the FED to control the money supply?American Agriculture: Its Changing Significance(Links to an external site. in America: The Workers Role(Links to an external site. Trade and Global Economic Policies(Links to an external site.https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oecon/chap10.htm)1.Currently the average American worker works in which sector of the economy? Where did they work before the Industrial Revolution?2.How have labor standards changed over time?3.How have the power of labor unions changed over time? What role has international trade played in this change?