ATLANTA -- During Georgia Central Credit Union's 2007 Economic Symposium, Jeff Rosensweig, director of the Global Perspectives Program at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, discussed implications of global economic trends and the general state of the United States economy.

According to Rosensweig, the United States economy may not be growing as quickly as other nations' markets, but it has been steadily expanding for a greater period of time.

"The U.S. economy is up nearly six and a half times from 1950, while the world economy is up eight times," he said. In fact, the economy has grown four years in a row, which Rosensweig describes as "historical."

Rosensweig also mentioned the concern that the manufacturing sector has been in decline must be counterbalanced with the understanding that there has been a shift to service sector growth. "Even in the worst job downturns, service jobs stayed strong and have been rapidly increasing in recent years, despite the fact that recession has brought about a 'hollowing out of our factories.'" He reminded participants of booming service industries such as hospitality, education, healthcare, and of course, financial services.

Additionally, Rosensweig discussed the U.S. trade deficit, which is at a record high at approximately $8 billion--two-thirds of which is expended to pay for oil or goods from China. Surprising some in the audience, he also noted that the U.S. is the largest exporter in the world--contradictory to the belief that American products and services are not competitive or in demand. However, he noted that "we're in a very strong economy and our exports are growing really fast, so there's a good chance the trade deficit will begin to shrink."