e-ReferenceDesk's College and 50 State Learning Resource Guide

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Massachusetts

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Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Worcester

State Economy

States Without Income Tax

The United States is one of the largest and most technologically developed countries in the world. The Gross Domestic Product of the country in terms of purchasing power parity of the country has reached at $12.36 trillion (2005 est.).

Massachusetts Economy

Agriculture and Industry in Massachusetts

Massachusetts economy is a set of human and social activities and institutions related to the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of agriculture and industry goods and services. The balance between Massachusetts various economic sectors differs largely between various regions and other states in the US.

Since colonial times, Massachusetts has been an important industrial state and a pioneer in developing new technologies. Today the state leads in the production of electronic and technical equipment, plastics, paper products, and metal and rubber products.

Its busy port cities are thriving shipping centers. Printing and publishing are also important to the economy. The state's jewelry manufacturing industry has been in existence since before the American Revolution.

Massachusetts farms produce cranberries, apples, dairy products, and nursery items.

Massachusetts Agriculture and Industry

Massachusetts Agriculture:

Seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, vegetables.

Massachusetts Industry:

Machinery, electric equipment, scientific instruments, printing and publishing, tourism.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Massachusetts's total state product in 2003 was $297 billion. Per capita personal income in 2004 was $42,102, making it the 2nd highest in the country behind Connecticut.

Its agricultural outputs are seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric equipment, scientific instruments, printing, and publishing. Thanks largely to the Ocean Spray cooperative, Massachusetts is the second largest cranberry producing state in the union (after Wisconsin). Other sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include higher education, health care, financial services and tourism.

State Economies

A central feature of the US economy is a reliance on private decision-making ("economic freedom") in economic decision-making. This is enhanced by relatively low levels of regulation, taxation, and government involvement, as well as a court system that generally protects property rights and enforces contracts.

The US is rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil. It also has extensive coastlines on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers flow from far within the continent, and the Great Lakes along the US border with Canada - provide shipping access. These 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.