Printable Version United States East Coast: land of wealth and opportunity

A large part of America’s assets and profits are concentrated here. This highly dynamic region plays a central role in the U.S. economy.

This part of America is also known as the BosWash megalopolis, stretching north-south from Boston to Washington along the Atlantic seaboard. It includes major cities such as New York and Philadelphia, as well as Manchester, Springfield, Stamford and Baltimore. The megalopolis first acquired its name in 1961, when French geographer Jean Gottman published his book Megalopolis. There are three megalopolises in the world: the one on the U.S. east coast, another in Japan between Tokyo and Osaka, and a third in Europe, forming in arc from the London basin, in southern England, through to the north of Italy, commonly known as the “blue banana”.

This 800-kilometer-long region grew up in the 1960s. Nowadays it is highly urbanized and exceptionally dynamic from an economic perspective. It accounts for 20% of U.S. GDP ($13,132 billion in 2007) and would be the fourth / fifth world economic power if it was an independent country.

Focus on services and finance
Businesses on the East Coast are mainly focused on services and finance. Many networked TV companies are headquartered there, as well as major newspaper groups, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, the world’s largest stock exchanges in terms of financial flows, and many finance companies. More than half the banking and insurance employees in the U.S. work in the BosWash corridor.

Home to world-renowned companies
The favoured environment of the BosWash region has attracted many renowned international companies to set up their headquarters there, in sectors ranging from industrial conglomerates, IT and pharmaceuticals to food and the defence industry.

In the U.S., services account for 78% of employment and 75% of GDP, with industry accounting for 20% of employment. The trend is similar on the East Coast, with the possible exception of Pennsylvania, which ranks fifth among U.S. states for industrial labour (more than 700,000 employees).

U.S., the world’s largest importer
Although the U.S. economy slightly downturned in 2007, with growth falling from 3.1% to 2.2%, and unemployment rising to 5.1% in first quarter of 2008, its highest level since September 2005, the country remains the most competitive in the world, according to the International Institute for Management Development’s ranking. Indeed, the United States is the world’s largest importer ($2,333 billion in 2007, +5.9%) and second largest exporter behind Germany ($1,622 billion, +12.2%). The U.S. trade deficit reached $712 billion last year.

The main exports include industrial equipment (transistors, aircraft, automotive parts, etc.), consumer goods (drugs, cars, etc), and food products. Where do they go? In first place to Canada (21.4%), the U.S.A.’s leading trade partner, followed by Mexico (11.7%), China and Japan, as well as to Europe, led by the United Kingdom (4.3%) and Germany (4.3%). The European Union accounts for 23% of U.S. exports.  As a major producer of high-tech machinery and drugs, for instance, the East Coast accounts for a large part of these exports.

The main imports include consumer goods (cars, clothing, etc) and equipment goods (computers, communication devices, etc.), coming from China (16.9%), Canada (15.7%), Mexico and Japan. The leading European trade partner of the United States is Germany (4.8% of U.S. imports are German). Total imports from the European Union represent 18.5% of U.S. imports. In addition, since the United States is the world’s largest importer of hydrocarbons, the oil-producing countries play a major role, making up 12% of U.S. imports.

Sources:
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
World Factbook CIA
Bureau of labor statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Department of Commerce