Outline of the U.S. Economy

This free online textbook is an adaptation of the book "Outline of the U.S. Economy" by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

CHAPTER 1: Continuity and Change

1. The American Economy at the End of the 20th Century
2. Free Enterprise and the Role of Government in America

CHAPTER 2: How the U.S. Economy Works

1. America's Capitalist Economy
2. Basic Ingredients of the U.S. Economy
3. Managers in the American Workforce
4. A Mixed Economy: The Role of the Market
5. Government's Role in the Economy
6. Regulation and Control in the U.S. Economy
7. Direct Services and Direct Assistance in the U.S. Economy
8. Poverty and Inequality in the United States
9. The Growth of Government in the United States

CHAPTER 3: The U.S. Economy - A Brief History

1. The Early Years of the United States
2. Colonization of the United States
3. The Birth of the United States: The New Nation's Economy
4. American Economic Growth: Movement South and Westward
5. American Industrial Growth
6. Economic Growth: Inventions, Development, and Tycoons
7. American Economic Growth in the 20th Century
8. Government Involvement in the American Economy
9. The Post War Economy: 1945-1960
10. Years of Change: The 1960s and 1970s
11. Stagflation in the 1970s
12. The Economy in the 1980s
13. Economic Recovery in the 1980s
14. The 1990s and Beyond
15. Global Economic Integration

CHAPTER 4: Small Business and the Corporation

1. The History of Small Business
2. Small Business in the United States
3. Small Business Structure in the United States
4. Franchising
5. Corporations in the United States
6. Ownership of Corporations
7. How Corporations Raise Capital
8. Monopolies, Mergers, and Restructuring
9. Mergers in the 1980s and 1990s
10. The Use of Joint Ventures

CHAPTER 5: Stocks, Commodities, and Markets

1. Introduction to Capital Markets
2. The Stock Exchanges
3. A Nation of Investors
4. How Stock Prices Are Determined
5. Market Strategies
6. Commodities and Other Futures
7. The Regulators of Security Markets
8. Black Monday and the Long Bull Market

CHAPTER 6: The Role of Government in the Economy

1. Government and the Economy
2. Laissez-faire Versus Government Intervention
3. Growth of Government Intervention in the Economy
4. Federal Efforts to Control Monopoly
5. Antitrust Cases Since World War II
6. Deregulating Transportation
7. Deregulating Telecommunications
8. Deregulation: The Special Case of Banking
9. Banking and the New Deal
10. Savings and Loan Bailouts
11. Lessons Learned From The Savings and Loan Crisis
12. Protecting the Environment
13. Government Regulation: What's Next?

CHAPTER 7: Monetary and Fiscal Policy

1. Introduction to Monetary and Fiscal Policy
2. Fiscal Policy: Budget and Taxes
3. The Income Tax
4. How High Should Taxes Be?
5. Fiscal Policy and Economic Stabilization
6. Fiscal Policy in the 1960s and 1970s
7. Fiscal Policy in the 1980s and 1990s
8. Money in the U.S. Economy
9. Bank Reserves and the Discount Rate
10. Monetary Policy and Fiscal Stabilization
11. The Growing Importance of Monetary Policy
12. A New Economy?
13. New Technologies in the New Economy
14. An Aging Workforce

CHAPTER 8: American Agriculture: Its Changing Significance

1. Agriculture and the Economy
2. Early Farm Policy in the United States
3. Farm Policy of the 20th Century
4. Farming Post World-War II
5. Farming in the 1980s and 1990s
6. Farm Policies and World Trade
7. Farming As Big Business

CHAPTER 9: Labor in America: The Worker's Role

1. American Labor History
2. Labor Standards in America
3. Pensions in the United States
4. Unemployment Insurance in the United States
5. The Labor Movement's Early Years
6. The Great Depression and Labor
7. Post-War Victories for Labor
8. The 1980s and 1990s: The End of Paternalism in Labor
9. The New American Work Force
10. Diversity in the Workplace
11. Labor Cost-Cutting in the 1990s
12. The Decline of Union Power

CHAPTER 10: Foreign Trade and Global Economic Policies

1. An Introduction to Foreign Trade
2. Mounting Trade Deficits in the United States
3. From Protectionism to Liberalized Trade
4. American Trade Principles and Practice
5. Trade Under the Clinton Administration
6. Multilateralism, Regionalism, and Bilateralism
7. Current U.S. Trade Agenda
8. Trade with Canada, Mexico, and China
9. The U.S. Trade Deficit
10. History of the U.S. Trade Deficit
11. The American Dollar and the World Economy
12. The Bretton Woods System
13. The Global Economy
14. Development Assistance

CHAPTER 11: Beyond Economics

1. Reviewing the American Economic System
2. How Fast Should the Economy Grow?