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The first ingredient of a nation's economic system is its natural resources. The United States is rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil, and it is blessed with a moderate climate. It also has extensive coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers flow from far within the continent, and the Great Lakes - five large, inland lakes along the U.S. border with Canada - provide additional shipping access. These extensive waterways have helped shape the country's economic growth over the years and helped bind America's 50 individual states together in a single economic unit.

The second ingredient is labor, which converts natural resources into goods. The number of available workers and, more importantly, their productivity help determine the health of an economy. Throughout its history, the United States has experienced steady growth in the labor force, and that, in turn, has helped fuel almost constant economic expansion. Until shortly after World War I, most workers were immigrants from Europe, their immediate descendants, or African-Americans whose ancestors were brought to the Americas as slaves. In the early years of the 20th century, large numbers of Asians immigrated to the United States, while many Latin American immigrants came in later years.

The quality of available labor is at least as important to a country's economic success as the number of workers. In the early days of the United States, frontier life required hard work, and what is known as the Protestant work ethic reinforced that trait. Labor mobility has likewise been important to the capacity of the American economy to adapt to changing conditions. Labor-force quality continues to be an important issue. Today, Americans consider "human capital" a key to success in numerous modern, high-technology industries.

But natural resources and labor account for only part of an economic system. These resources must be organized and directed as efficiently as possible.  Corporations must have financial resources to acquire the resources they need to produce goods or services. They raise the necessary capital largely by selling stock (ownership shares in their assets) or bonds (long-term loans of money) to insurance companies, banks, pension funds, individuals, and other investors. Some institutions, especially banks, also lend money directly to corporations or other business enterprises. Federal and state governments have developed detailed rules and regulations to ensure the safety and soundness of this financial system and to foster the free flow of information so investors can make well-informed decisions.

The gross domestic product measures the total output of goods and services in a given year. In the United States it has been growing steadily, rising from more than $3.4 trillion in 1983 to around $11.75 trillion by 2004. But while these figures help measure the economy's health, they do not gauge every aspect of national well-being. GDP shows the market value of the goods and services an economy produces, but it does not weigh a nation's quality of life. And some important variables - personal happiness and security, for instance, or a clean environment and good health - are entirely beyond its scope.

• Changing America: The United States Population in Transition - USIA Electronic Journal, Jun. 1999
• Continuity and Change - DOS IIP, Outline of the U.S. Economy, Ch. 1
• Economic Report of the President. 2005
• FRB Beige Book 2005: Current Economic Conditions
• Outline of American Geography
• Outline of the U.S. Economy
• Overview of the Economy
• State Fact Sheets: Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America
• The U.S. Economy: A Brief History - DOS IIP, Outline of the U.S. Economy, Ch. 3
• The United States in 2005: Who We Are Today - - DOS IIP, Electronic Journal, Dec. 2004

• Commodity Statistics and Information
• Demographic Statistics
• Energy and Utilities - Statistical Abstracts 2004-2005, Sec. 19
• Geography and Environment - Statistical Abstracts 2004-2005, Sec. 6
• State Energy Data: Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
• Census Map Stats: State and County Quick Facts
• Census Map Stats: USA Quick Facts
• Income, Expenditures, and Wealth - Statistical Abstracts 2004-2005, Sec. 13
• Natural Resources - Statistical Abstracts 2004-2005, Sec. 18
• Natural Resources Statistics
• Population - Statistical Abstracts 2004-2005, Sec. 1
• State Minerals Statistics and Information
• Vital Statistics - Statistical Abstracts 2004-2005, Sec. 2

• Joint Economic Committee. U.S. Congress
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• U.S. Department of Energy
• U.S. Geology Survey
• Mineral Information Institute
• National Mining Association