La structure du déficit extérieur américain

In: Histoire, économie & société: HES : époches moderne et contemporaine, Volume 22, Issue 1, p. 105-121

Abstract

Abstract This paper places the present American trade deficit in its historical context, starting with the rise of the United States to great power status in the 19th century. It probes the causes of the long- term phases of deficit, then of surplus, then of deficit again since 1972. It then shows what mechanisms increased the different kinds of deficits : firstly the deficit of the trade of goods, secondly the deficit of current accounts. An explanation is given for the position of the United States as net debtor to the rest of the world since 1985. To conclude, this papers draws attention to the worsening deficits of current accounts and of the federal budget in recent years, and shows that the present situation, characterised by a loss of confidence in the capitalist economy itself (caused by the aura of scandal which shrouded the bankruptcies of such companies as Enron and Worldcom), is eminently unstable.