THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY

Bertrand Bellon and Jorge Niosi

Translated by Robert Chodos and Ellen Garmaise

U.S. domination of the world economy has rested on technological supremacy, surplus of capital for export, perennial merchandise trade, and military superiority. All but the fourth of these factors no longer holds, and the U.S. is now a debtor nation. between 1950 and 1984, the real standard of living (corrected by inflation) of West Germany, France, and Italy rose to twice that of the U.S., while Japan’s grew four times as quickly. Four of the world’s five largest banks are now located outside the U.S. and West Germany is the greatest exporter. The American share of manufacturing, mining, and agriculture is diminishing, and more than half the jobs created in the U.S. in the past five years pay less than $7 an hour.

Two prominent economists examine the decline of U.S. industry, covering the post-World War II period to the Reagan era. They analyze all important indicators, from the introduction of new technologies to the role of military industries.

“Decline of the U.S. has become a favourite theme. This analysis by Bellon and Niosi is at once sober, astute, and coherent. They have the eye of the stranger for U.S. mores but of the participant in the world-system for which this represents a crucial moment of transition.”--Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel Center, State University of New York

“A rigorous study presenting a lucid and comprehensive view of the late twentieth-century America of McDonald’s and Toyota.” --Le Devoir, Montreal

“A serious rethinking that is particularly appropriate in an era when the American giant must deal more and more with players its own size and even bigger."--La Presse, Montreal

Bertrand Bellon is professor at the Universite de Paris (XIII) and visiting professor at New York University. Jorge Niosi, author of the acclaimed book The Economy of Canada: A Study of Ownership and Control, teaches economics at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.

Table of Contents

Introduction: From Hegemony to Multipolarity

PART I            INDUSTRIAL DECLINE

1. Loss of Competitiveness
2. The Decline of Industry
3. Industrial Decline and the Social Structure

 PART II           DOMESTIC POLICIES

4. Macroeconomic Policy: From the Welfare State to Reaganism
5. Business Incentives: Are They an Industrial Policy?
6. A Poorly Adapted Arms Policy

PART III          RELATIONS WITH ECONOMIC PARTNERS

7. Attraction and Dependence: America’s Satellites
8. The Competition

Conclusion: The Scenarios

Bibliography

Statistical Appendix

Index