GDP Research Paper - Essay Example

American Economy: Real GDP The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) highlight reveals a number of trends with respect to the real GDP of the United s of America. For one, the highlight reveals that the economy of the U.S. is generally stable in growth. This is evident in the fact that with the exception of the second quarter of 2009, the country has achieved positive GDP growth (per quarter). Yet another trend that is evident from the highlight is that the GDP growth falls somewhere between 2 and 3 percent.

According to the BEA highlight, the U.S. economy enjoyed the most significant growth during the last quarter of 2011(BEA par. 1). During this period, the economy grew by slightly more that 4%. The economy also enjoyed significant growth during the fourth quarter of 2009. During this period, the country’s real GDP grew by 4%. The significant growth during the fourth quarter of 2009 may be attributed to the stimulus packages that the U.S. government released to revamp the country’s economy.

One of the key highlights of the BEA document regards the second quarter of 2009. This is the period during which the economy “grew” the least (with regard to real GDP). In fact, the economy experienced negative growth (BEA par. 1). The negative growth during this period was attributed to the effects of the global economic crisis that particularly impacted the U.S between 2008 and 2009. The crisis which was caused by a subprime mortgage and derivatives market crisis and devaluation of the dollar against other currencies resulted in massive trade deficits.

From the BEA data, it may be predicted that the economy will grow during the second, third, and last quarters of 2013. During the first quarter of 2013, the economy grew by about 2.4% (BEA par. 1). Given that several spectators have noted that the U.S. economy has not fully recovered for the recession (Anderson, par. 1), it is worth noting that the economy may not achieve an average growth of 3%. An average growth of about 2% is predictable for the rest of the year. It is known that Real GDP is a factor of gross investment, government spending, private consumption, and the balance of trade.

What this means is that when private consumption, gross investment and government spending increase, the GDP will have positive growth. When the value of exports exceeds that of imports so that there is a positive balance of trade, the economy similarly enjoys positive growth, the converse being true. The economy of the U.S. is bound to grow by about 2% in 2013 owing to the positive impacts of the stimulus packages that the government has previously released. The economy is also bound to grow modestly owing to the fairly robust level of recovery of the private sector.

Relatively high consumer spending may also boost the economy’s growth. This recovery, however, is bound to be lowered by fiscal tightening according to the World Bank (International Business Times, par. 11). With the government cutting down on spending such as military spending, the economy is bound to witness less growth. Works Cited Anderson Elise. Anderson Forecast: U.S. economy falls short of true recovery; California job growth steady. 2013. Web. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/anderson-forecast-u-s-economy-246602.aspx BEA. GDP growth accelerates in first quarter : Second Estimate of GDP. 2013. Web.

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2013/pdf/gdp1q13_2nd_fax.pdf International Business Times. World Bank Cuts 2013 Global Economic Growth Outlook, Lowers Forecast For China, India, Brazil, Raises Projections For US, Japan. 2013. Web. http://www.ibtimes.com/world-bank-cuts-2013-global-economic-growth-outlook-lowers-forecast-china-india-brazil-raises