Macroeconomics › Section J · International trade and capital flows › Topic J.2
Trade balances in historical context
A single year's trade deficit says little on its own. Set against six decades of US data and the experience of other countries, the numbers start to tell a story about booms, recessions, budgets and saving.
In this topic
- Why look at the long record
- An old argument about surpluses
- The United States before 1980
- The deficits of the 1980s
- Worked example: imports outrun exports, 1981-1987
- Two decades of widening deficits
- Worked example: two recessions compared
- The rise of services
- Other countries, other patterns
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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