The structure of US GDP over the past century has undergone significant changes. The most important thing that happened is the formation of the United States as the "most" post-industrial country in the world. The share of services in the state economy is almost ¾ of the total GDP, thus leading the States to the lead.
What is GDP?
If we talk about such an economic indicator as GDP, it must be said that it exists of different types: real, nominal and per capita. They are calculated in different ways. The GDP structure of the USA, Russia and other countries is very different from each other, since it depends on the degree of economic development. So what is GDP?
Nominal GDP - this is the sum of all produced and received material wealth of the state for a certain period of time, most often for a year.
Real GDP - This is an indicator of the nominal net of inflation. Moreover, these two indicators can be very different. For many years, the United States has been the undisputed leader in GDP, but since 2014, a new leader has appeared in the world - the PRC.
Per capita. In this case, the total indicator of all produced material assets of the state is divided by the number of people in this country. According to this indicator, Qatar is in first place in the world with an indicator of 140 thousand dollars.
The history of the US economy
With the arrival of the first Europeans in North America, i.e., from the sixteenth century, the structure of production began to take shape. US GDP, therefore, began its gradual growth in those days. Migrants here led an economically free way of life. Interstate carried out free trade - Even then, the States were almost one state. 2 economic regions gradually formed: the agricultural south and the industrial north. At the beginning of the 19th century, an industrial revolution took place in the USA, which gave an unprecedented impetus to economic development; This was facilitated by the appearance of the shipping company, which accelerated cargo transportation in the country. But a real revolution in the economy was made by railway transport.
During the civil war of 1861-1865. industry was developing rapidly in the north of the country, and slavery after its end was abolished. A huge role in economic development was played by technical inventions and discoveries. And by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries automobile transport, airplanes and other equipment appeared. In the XX century, as a result of two world wars, the United States was destined to become an economic leader, and as a result, a superpower, which it remains to this day.
Economic areas
Over the entire history of economic development in the country, 4 main economic regions were formed, having examined which, one can understand what the structure of the US GDP is (development is given the main importance):
1. Northeast. The most important economic macro-district of the state, although it is small in area. Here is the capital of the United States, as well as the largest city - New York, which has the unspoken name of "the economic capital of the United States." This city alone gives 10% of the country's GDP! Here is one of the richest coal basins (Appalachian) and the largest stock exchange on the planet.
2. Midwest. Specialists call this area the "breadbasket of the country." It occupies 20% of the United States, which includes such industrial giants as Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit. It produces half of the country's agricultural product, most of milk, cheese and meat. Chicago has the world's largest slaughterhouses; Detroit is the country's automobile capital.
3. South. The leader in terms of oil, coal, phosphorite, gas. 90% of fabrics, tobacco products are made here.However, in terms of the welfare of the population, this area is much inferior to others.
4. The West. Under the influence of the development of this economic region over the past few decades, changes have occurred and a different structure of US GDP has begun to take shape. The economy of this region is tied to the development of electronics, space and aviation industry MIC, oil, cinematography. It is here that California - the "golden state of the United States." In addition, Alaska and Hawaii also belong to this area.
The structure of the US economy and its features
The US economy has a pronounced character inherent in a post-industrial state. Here, almost 80% of GDP is produced in the service sector, which makes the States a world leader. Material production gives only 20% of GDP, which includes all industry, agriculture and forestry, and construction. Moreover, agricultural production accounts for less than 1% of GDP, although the share of these goods on world markets more than significant.
Recently, the structure of US GDP, the features of which are a noticeable decrease in the share of agriculture and raw materials industries, is losing ground. Although the material sphere remains still the most important, it is in it that the latest achievements of scientific and technical progress take place. The US economy is one of the most highly efficient due to the fact that another distinctive feature of the economy is its focus on scientific and technical progress, advanced technology and its introduction into production. The USA is the world leader in exporting licenses for its inventions, the latest developments and discoveries.
"Headhunting"
The innovative potential of the United States has a high level of competitiveness. Of great importance here is the state itself, which finances about half of all scientific research, as well as private companies, local authorities and other institutions.
It should be emphasized that more than 50% of the innovations of developed countries are in the USA! American researchers account for 35% of the publication of scientific articles in the most prestigious journals. But here there is a but. About 40% of the country's largest scientists are immigrants, a third of the Nobel Prize laureates come from other countries.
The United States is actively working to stimulate the so-called. “Brain drain” from other states, inviting them to their research laboratories and offering more favorable conditions for activities than at home. It must be said that the States are interested not only in established scholars, but also in promising young specialists, because their activities have the unspoken name of "headhunting."
The result of such a policy was a high proportion of foreigners in the computer industry (more than 40%), mathematics (30%) and engineering (about 50%).
Industry
The structure of US GDP in terms of industrial development in recent decades has undergone significant changes. The share in the world economy decreased, while at the same time, America remains the leader in the production and export of industrial products among developed countries of the world.
However, there is a peculiarity in the US industrial development - most of the GDP is not produced by machine building and ferrous metallurgy, but by high-tech production, textile, food industry and consumer products. The lion's share is given by the military-industrial complex, which “eats” a huge amount of budget material resources, but at the same time, in large quantities, the products of this industry are exported.
Agriculture
In the production of agricultural products, the United States confidently holds 3rd place after China and Russia. At the same time, the States have been a leader in the export of agricultural products for many years in a row.
The predominance of animal husbandry over agriculture is a feature that has the structure of US GDP. The development of agriculture is characterized by high labor productivity, a high degree of equipment of enterprises, and a variety of products.
The last 30-40 years there has been a process of concentration production. So, the number of farms decreased from 4 to 2 million. At the same time, there is no decrease in the number of agricultural products - there is an increase.This fact confirms that there really is a concentration, not a decrease in the number of producing enterprises.
Energetics
It should be said that the United States is the leader in both the production and consumption of energy in the world. Until the 40s of the 20th century, the energy produced from coal held the leading position, after which there was a sharp increase in the share of energy from oil and gas. This continued until the 70s, when an energy crisis erupted. At that time, the share of energy from oil and gas was about 77%. After that, the process of reduction to 53% (in production) began.
States are actively buying oil in foreign markets - mainly in Mexico and Canada. This does not indicate that the country does not have enough of its own resources, but suggests that the country can afford to buy cheap raw materials, because its extraction within the state can be more expensive than import.
Currently, thermal power plants account for a large share of energy production in the United States - more than 70%, nuclear plants - 20%, and hydroelectric power stations - about 10%.
Transport
Transportation in the United States is very diverse: automobile, aviation, rail, water. All these species are developed quite strongly, however, there are some peculiarities. As a result of the fact that the structure of US GDP has recently undergone significant changes, transport routes have also changed.
In this regard, it should be noted that the share in rail transportation was greatly reduced as a result of the development of the automotive industry and the emergence of expressways in the 50-60s of the XX century. Railways are currently used primarily for the transport of goods. However, natural disasters (hurricanes, snowfalls) showed the population that it was too early to write off railway transport - at the time when the roads were paralyzed or communication on them was very difficult, transportation by rail was carried out without problems.
Air and water transport also play a significant role in communications within the country and beyond. It must be said about the role of subways in cities crowded with cars, and about the appearance of light rail tram lines.
As a result, the services sector in the field of transportation of people and goods gives a considerable share in the overall structure of the US GDP.
US GDP structure. Comparison with Russia
In modern economic theory, three types of GDP formation are known:
- when most of the funds are concentrated in the field of financial, legal and other services (Switzerland, USA);
- most of the GDP is generated in industry (China, Germany, Japan);
- GDP is formed mainly due to the export of raw materials and world indicators for their value (Russia, Algeria, Nigeria).
From the foregoing, we can conclude about the different ways of economic development of countries. The GDP structure of the USA and Russia has significant differences. While in the United States most of the material wealth is created in the service sector, in the Russian Federation it is industry, and to a greater extent it is the mining sector. In the USA, the processing industry is more developed, in Russia, the mining industry. In agriculture in Russia, the main emphasis is on agriculture, in the United States - on livestock.
On the issue of labor productivity, there is widespread evidence. But, as it turned out, upon careful consideration, labor productivity in Russia is two times lower than in the USA, although the well-known Forbes magazine claims that this difference is even greater (3 times).
Expert estimates on GDP for 2016-2017
The US government has come to the conclusion that economic growth in 2016 and next year will be 2.6%. If this forecast comes true, then economic growth for 2016-2017. will be the highest in the last decade. There is a decrease in the budget deficit from more than $ 600 billion to $ 503 billion. The new draft budget has a number of tax innovations that should replenish the treasury by an additional $ 2.5 trillion. The US GDP structure, based on the proposed project, should not change, but its level should increase, as indicated by favorable events for the US economy.
The United States is a world leader in economic development. The productivity of American workers is one of the highest in the world. The difference from the same Russia is that most of the material goods are produced in the service sector. The structure of US GDP has a well-coordinated system, a huge role in the functioning of which is played by private capital.
