America in the World's Briefings: America's economy drives global entrepreneurship and prosperity

The United States of America accounts for 6% of the world's land mass and about 6% of its people, yet its economy generates around 30% of global GDP[1]
America's economic engine is not only the largest, but it is also the most dynamic and innovative, well evidenced by the fact more than 40% of all Nobel Prize recipients are from the U.S.[2]

American economy has consistently supported global free trade
Over the last decade, the United States accounted for about one-third of global economic expansion. Over the last two decades, soaring US imports accounted for more than 20% of the increase of the world's exports. Developing countries accounted for an increasing share of US exports, 32.8% in 1985 versus over 40% in recent years.[3]

America is the most competitive economy
This was the assessment of the Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008 by the World Economic Forum. The US is followed by major European economies such as Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Finland. America's competitive economy drives global commerce.[4] The efficiency of America's markets, the complexity of its resilient business community, the capacity for technological innovation that exists within top-league universities and research centres all contribute to making the United States a highly competitive economy. America still attracts the largest inflow of foreign direct investment - businesses and real estate - among advanced economies while America continues to be the top OECD investor.[5]

US-based multinationals are among the most sustainable corporations in the world[6]
They make up the second-largest country group, just behind firms headquartered in the United Kingdom, on the 2008 list of the 100 most sustainable corporations compiled by the media group Corporate Knights Inc. and consulting firm Innovest. Sustainable companies focus on the following three values; increasing shareholder value, protecting the environment and caring for the communities in which they operate.

The American economy, which generates more economic opportunities through greater economic freedom, is the number one source of remittances to the rest of the world from people who migrated out of their countries to find work abroad. The United States is by far the largest, with $42 billion in recorded outward remittance flows.[7] This amounts to a significant transfer of resources from the developed to the developing world.

America's strong economy and its competitiveness stem from many hard working people
Americans are generally willing to work more hours and take fewer vacations than workers in other advanced economies, taking hard work as a "badge of honor." As noted by many economists, the American economy creates more jobs, has a lower unemployment rate, and generate more wealth than European or other advanced economies do. For example, unemployment rates in France and Germany have hovered near or above 10% in recent years and have been double the US rate at times.[8] According to a 2007 report by the International Labor Organization, the United States leads the world in labor productivity per person employed and that "the productivity gap between the US and most other developed economies continued to widen."[9]

America has proved time and again that the right policies, those that enhance economic freedom, can generate more opportunities and make the world economy achieve more dynamic economic growth.[10]
As the foundation of a strong and healthy economy, economic freedom empowers people by providing more opportunities. Greater economic freedom makes it possible for more people to enjoy the benefits of a dynamic economy. Most economic fallacies are based on the rather simplistic assumption that an economy is static and economic growth adheres to the "zero-sum game" rule, asserting that the size of the economic pie is fixed so that, if someone gets a bigger piece of pie, it means that someone else must settle for a smaller piece. The "zero-sum rule" is just not true. In fact, the size of the pie can grow so that both people get more.

American economy's remarkable buoyancy in the face of the 2007-08 economic slowdown owes much to an array of America's institutional framework and policies that reward entrepreneurial activities. A sound legal system along with a competitive and flexible market system and monetary stability helps America remain resilient.

Economic integration through globalisation is a fact of life - both economically and socially. It requires that challenges be thought of in different ways, that some old ways of thinking be discarded. America has been leading the world in dealing with those challenges, and the world should not shy away from the challenges of pursuing greater economic freedom along with the United States of America.