Overview of the U.S. Economic System

 In economic systems, entrepreneurs and managers bring together natural resources, labor, and technology to produce and distribute goods and services. But the way these different elements are organized and used reflects a nation's political ideals and its culture.

The American economy is perhaps better described as a "mixed" economy, with government playing an important role along with private enterprise.

Although Americans often disagree about exactly where to draw the line between their beliefs in free enterprise and government management, the mixed economy we have developed has been successful as measured be economic growth.

The economy of the United States has the world's largest gross domestic product (GDP), $13.21 trillion in 2006. It is a mixed economy where corporations and other private firms make the majority of microeconomic decisions while being regulated by the government. The US economy also maintains a high level of productivity (GDP per capita), although it is not the world's highest. The U.S. economy has maintained a reasonably high overall GDP growth rate, a low unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment.

Major economic concerns in the United Sates include National debt, external debt, entitlement liabilities for retiring baby boomers who are entering the Social Security system, consumer debt, a low savings rate, and a large current account deficit.

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