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Whether the activities of lawyers might hamper economic growth has been hotly contested over the past three decades. Contradictory conclusions have flowed from evidence that typically has focused on the impact of lawyers on the growth rates of countries. Disputes over definitions and samples that vary among countries have colored portions of these debates. We surmount many of these issues by adopting a 50-state panel covering the period 2005-2018 for the United States and by utilizing widely accepted variables regarding economic activity and who is considered a lawyer. Further, we utilize two distinct measures of the activity of lawyers and find that an increased presence of lawyers reduces per capita real economic growth. Separately, we also find that an increased presence of lawyers reduces the level of per capita real income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the marketing and distribution differences between the United States and Great Britain. The author puts forth the idea that American marketing calls for products to become obsolete very quickly due to newer models being marketed. An example of refrigerator models is presented to illustrate this point. The United States' market is described as more energetic and experimental than Britain's. Technological innovation, natural resources and a growing domestic market are the primary factors which aid the U.S. market. The British consumer is noted for a distrust of novelty, innate conservatism and preference for that which is familiar.

The article discusses the difficulties that Asian countries encounter in their process of economic development. The author gives a comparison between the economic development of the U.S. and India. He notes that Americans started under conditions of extreme abundance of natural resources relative to population while the Indians started under conditions of extreme population relative to natural resources. Several factors are presented that affect the economic difficulties of Asian countries which include the underestimation of natural resources, change in demographic structure, and rapid population.

Seven recommendations are offered for the Obama Administration to ensure that the economy is on a robust growth path over the next decade. These recommendations are intended as first steps towards building the innovation-based public-private partnerships needed to drive economic growth and prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains the relationship between the components of the Kansas City Financial Stress Index (KCFSI) and financial stress in the U.S. It states that high values of the KCFSI have seem to coincide with known periods of financial stress and offer important information about future economic growth. The article also discusses a set of financial variables, explores the link between the KCFSI and economic activities, and examines how the KCFSI can be used in determining the severity of financial stress.

The article provides information concerning the international economic outlook in the U.S. and in Europe. Following unbelievable growth performance throughout the expansionary phase of the global business cycle, major economies led by the U.S. seem to have entered uneven slowing down patterns from their cyclical peaks reached in the fall of 2007. The cyclical components of the leading and/or lagging relationships of investment, profits, consumer expenditures, and inventories have substantially added to the changing pattern of the global cycle.

Over the past two decades, in a constantly changing global economy, local economic development programs and activities have grown in prominence as cities and metropolitan areas across the country have struggled to strengthen their economic base and increase job opportunities for their populations. Although local governments are expected to play a more proactive role in building their economies, the reality of global competition is that government cannot go it alone. Governments are important in helping to shape the local business environment, but so are companies, colleges and universities, and many other local institutions. A potentially significant component of collaborative networks are university-based, graduate-level policy and management programs that can equip economic development officials with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively respond to the heightened level of competition brought on by the new global economy. This article analyzes how current graduate-level public administration (MPA) programs are responding to these challenges based on a survey of economic development specializations in MPA programs in the United States. The article describes the general direction and focus of economic development specializations offered in MPA programs in the United States and the extent to which MPA economic development specializations are addressing specific "core competencies" in the knowledge and skills of economic development professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on various methods of entry into the U.S. market. Due to the complexity of the country's legal system many companies are reluctant to enter the U.S. market. It has been indicated that careful planning and drafting of contracts is essential. In addition, the use of local counsel familiar with representing foreign companies entering the country is prudent.

Entrepreneurship has historically been a vital contributor to the dynamism of American economic activity and has functioned as an important institution for marginalized races and communities. Logistic regression models based on data from the 1993 through 2000 Current Population Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of the Census are used to investigate differences in the probability of self-employment for African Americans and Whites. The investigation of racial differences in entrepreneurship offers both a fundamental view of economic development and of the salience of race in contemporary American economic activity. The results of this study show that household resources have both expected and unexpected effects on entrepreneurship. For example) as expected, being married and having other sources of household income positively affect the likelihood of entrepreneurship for both African Americans and Whites. Unexpectedly, having other working-age adults in the household reduces the likelihood of entrepreneurship for both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the need for focusing on the economy of the U.S. which is undergoing fundamental transformations, and suggests that regions and communities need to restructure their economies to align themselves with new economic realities. They can effect adaptation and innovation in the sectors and functions with their inherent competitive advantages. Insights gained from the past can positively affect current practice. It argues that economists have had the wrong focus and should rather look to economic development practice, the evolution of economy of companies, investors, workers, institutions and places. Evolutionary economics has the real economy as its focus. INSET: Digital Transformation on Main Street.

This article presents estimates of the contribution of service industries to the economic base of regional economies in the United States over the 1995–2000 time period. The article utilises data for the 172 BEA Economic Areas, and directly confronts the change in statistical accounts in the United States from the SIC to NAICS classification system. The article documents the strong contribution of service industries to the growth in the economic base of these regions, and it also documents the uneven pattern of growth among regions in the United States during this time period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasts on the resurgence of the economic productivity of the U.S. for the year 2005. Information on productivity trends; Sources of the U.S. output and productivity growth; Significance of productivity outlook to the economic development of the country.

This paper introduces a dynamic conceptual model to describe US multinational corporations' responses to radical political regime changes in contemporary Latin America. The model describes four stages in the MNC response process: (1) the nature of the radical revolution in the host nation; (2) the new economic paradigm created by the revolutionary government; (3) the adjustments and readjustments made by both parties (the state and MNC) within the newly defined rules; and (4) the end result or outcome of the re-positioning process. Moderating the impact of the creation of the new economic paradigm are the host nation's national history, the host nation's domestic actors, US hegemonic power, international actors and economic development models. Within this mix, both state and MNC power influence what each other wants and can get from the other. This leads to a “negotiated” outcome from whence the response from theMNCis made. The revolutionary regimes in Chile (1970-1973) and Nicaragua (1979-1990) are examined within the context of the proposed conceptual model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Along with the recent resurgence of interest in the agglomeration and clustering of economic activity, there has been increasing interest in industry clusters as a potential economic development strategy. Ultimately, the question of whether or not clusters are an appropriate focus of economic development strategies for rural areas depends on the relationship between clusters and local economic growth. The primary purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the issues involved in measuring the relationship between clusters and rural economic growth. Preliminary evidence of a positive association between industry clusters and rural earnings growth are presented, supporting the notion that a cluster-focused development strategy may be effective in some rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a quarter century of environmental regulation in this country, significant environmental threats remain. Why has the regulatory system failed to fully address our environmental problems? The goal of this paper is to suggest that the roots of environmental problems, and the failure of environmental regulation, are deeply embedded in the processes that generate economic growth. The logic of the argument to be presented will take the following form: long-run economic growth relies on the creation of new industries and new forms of economic activity; these new forms of economic activity create new kinds of environmental problems; these new forms of economic activity constitute vested political interests that oppose environmental regulation. Each of the three main sections of the paper will provide theoretical and empirical justification for each component part of the basic argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent studies have described in some detail the factors limiting development in major countries.[3] Each shows the external sector to have been a critical element in explaining past difficulties and in determining future prospects. In addition, each points to a number of internal limitations and gives some analysis of the interaction between the two sets of factors. The present paper will utilize some of the insights from these studies to develop an aggregative model that brings out the relations between the internal and external factors in economic development. The model will be used for three purposes: (1) to interpret recent development performance, (2) to indicate in quantitative terms some of the requirements of accelerated growth, and (3) to provide a framework for the discussion of alternatives facing the United States and the Latin American countries. One section of the paper is devoted to each of these topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the need for constructive analysis, planning, and policy to promote regional economic growth in the southern states of the U.S. The prospects and possibilities for the South's economic development are, of course, closely linked with growth of and changes in the national economy. During the past two decades, the South has shared increasingly well in national economic growth, and similar promise holds for the future. Although there are thus grounds for optimism, the expected improvement could presumably be made greater and more certain. The present momentum of Southern economic development provides a strong driving force which may be harnessed by special and concerted efforts to secure continued advance. Too much emphasis can hardly be placed on the productivity of the South's labor force in terms of its aptitudes, mobility, and employability. For several decades, the South has had somewhat more than its share of low productivity industry. Low-productivity areas are necessarily low-wage, low-income areas as well. A revealing example is the cotton-growing region of the South in which farms are typically too small, under-equipped, and poorly managed to be profitable. Such factors as the one-crop system, sharecropping, race, and an inadequate system of rural credit work in combination to reduce the productivity and cash incomes of these far too numerous farmers.

This article focuses on the impact of the U.S. marketers in the transformation of Latin-American economic life. In every aspect of his business, the marketer must weigh political factors to which he would not give a second thought in the United States--in his investments, pricing policy, plant location, employee relations and the character of his competition with local companies. The enormous expansion of Latin America's capacity to consume carries with it the promise of important social changes in the years to come. Peasant masses are being urbanized and becoming part of the effective market for mass-produced manufactured commodities. The greatest obstacle to the expansion of Latin America's marketing economy stems from the isolation of economic units which follow political boundaries. Latin-American countries trade primarily with the United States and Europe, only to a minor extent among themselves. This isolation limits the effectiveness of marketing activities, which can be conducted more efficiently in larger units.

The article presents information on Great Salt Lake, Utah. Interest in the Great Salt Lake has increased recently because its potential economic resources appear to be close to realization. Economic development will bring problems as well as profit and, in this respect, the Great Salt Lake may be considered a microcosm of what is happening in other areas of economic growth. The map of Great Salt Lake thus takes on a larger meaning in the battle between economics and ecology. The prospect of recovering a vast reserve of important chemicals has stimulated activity in government and business.