Assignment Description

One of the more important measures in regard to international economics is the balance of payments. Think of it as a national accounting measure that looks at the flow of goods and services into and out of an economy in a given period of time. It also shows capital flows into and out of a country. Until 1980, the United States tended to run a positive-to-neutral balance of payments position and was a creditor nation. In the course of the past 30 years, the United States has moved to a negative balance of payments and to being a debtor nation.

Review and discuss the following:

• Discuss the importance of the balance of payments as an accounting measure.
• Discuss the current account and its components and the capital and financial accounts and their components.
• How important is the U.S. deficit in traded goods in regard to the balance of payments?

Here are some relevant articles to help you with this assignment:

• The Changing Nature of the U.S. Balance of Payments
• Balance of Payments

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For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

References

Hellerstein, R., & Tille, C. (2008, June). The changing nature of the U.S. balance of payments. Current Issues in Economics and Finance, 14(4). Retrieved from https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/rese…

Stein, H. (2008). Balance of payments. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/BalanceofPaymen

Answer preview

Balance of payments is an accounting mechanism that looks at the stream of goods and services into a country versus the products and services a country exports to other nations (Stein, 2008). The United States, like any other developed nation, uses this tool to assess its financial status. For a long time, the country was in a positive-to-neutral financial position. However, the situation took a nosedive in 1980 and had since…