Group: Thomas Mueller, Samuel Moricz, Sierra Cameron, Kevin Gordon, Trevor Tarnowski
World Economics
Professor Suprabha
10 October 2018
The United States
1. Resources. The major resources of any economy that underlie its production possibilities are Land, Labor, and Capital. We will focus on Land and Labor. We will also consider what is known as Human Capital, which is the amount of skill or knowledge the labor of a country has. (Physical capital is much harder to measure, but you can provide it if there is data available).
a. Land and physical resources. How large is the economy’s amount (or endowment) of land?The most important land endowment for a country is its arable land per person. What is that ratio for your country? Is the climate temperate, subtropical or tropical? As we will learn more, climate plays an important role in terms of the ability to grow crops and the disease environment of a country.
Main questions:
How large is the economy's amount (or endowment) of land?
Answer: 9.834 million square kilometers.
What is the arable land per person ratio for your country?
Answer:
What is the climate?
Answer:
b. An important part of the endowment of “Land” are natural resources. Are there any natural resources that are particularly important for your economy (minerals, water power, etc.)? You may want to see whether it exports (sells to other nations) products that reflect certain kinds of resources. For example, since the United States has lots of arable land, it exports lots of grain (arable land intensive) to other countries. Saudi Arabia has very little arable land, but its natural resources include significant deposits of oil.
Main Questions:
Are there any natural resources that are particularly important for your economy (minerals, water power, etc.)?
Answer:
The United States had 95,471 miles of shoreline. “The coast contributed 222.7 billion to gross domestic product, creating 2.6 million jobs in 2009” (Amadeo).
(https://www.thebalance.com/how-natural-resources-boost-the-u-s-economy-3306228)
Highest paying sector is oil drilling, which pays $125,700 per worker.
Ocean enables ship and boat building, transportation, and shoreline construction
United States has a large coastline and is not land locked from exporting and importing more expensive goods (World Bank).
(http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2008/06/16/landlocked-countries-higher-transport-costs-delays-less-trade)
“Coal was used to drive steamships and steam-powered railroads” (Amadeo).
(https://www.thebalance.com/how-natural-resources-boost-the-u-s-economy-3306228)
What products does your country export that reflects kinds of resources?
Answer: the United States has lots of arable land, it exports lots of grain (arable land intensive) to other countries
c. Note that global warming implies a variety of threats to production possibilities. What threats are posed to your country by climate change? It gives you information on several dimensions of vulnerability.
Main Questions:
What threats are posed to your country by climate change?
Answer:
“Oceans are absorbing the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In response, they’ve become 30 percent more acid since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution” (https://www.ilo.org/weso-greening/).
“The World Employment and Social Outlook 2018 estimated that climate change threatens 1.2 billion jobs…. Natural disasters have already cost 23 million working life years since 2000” (https://www.ilo.org/weso-greening/).
“As America experiences more extremely hot days, food prices will increase… Those crops feed cattle and other meat sources. It's created spikes in beef, milk, and poultry prices rise” (Amadeo).
d. The labor force is the number of people in the entire population who are working. The labor force for a country can vary for several reasons. First, there is the age at which people begin work. In some countries, teen and child labor is important. The second influence is the age of retirement. Again, in some countries, there is not an effective retirement age; in others, it is relatively early. Finally, the participation of women in the labor force depends on several factors, including marital status.
Main Questions:
What is the age at which people begin to work?
Answer:
16: Restricted hours
18: No restrictions.
What is the retirement age?
Answer: 66 years and 2 months
What is the percentage of women who participate in the labor force?
Answer: 57%
i. Number of workers (labor force). How many workers are there? What percentage of the population works? (Another way of describing this is the age-dependency ratio, which is the ratio of non-working people (older people and young people) to working people). This information is all from the World Development Indicators. Another important feature is the experience or age of the workers. The work of two groups may have an important impact on the overall experience levels. What percentage of children aged 10-14 is working? What percentage of women is working?
Main Questions:
How many workers are there?
Answer: 160 million persons
What percentage of the population works?
Answer: 66%
What percentage of children aged 10-14 is working?
Answer: 0%
What percentage of women is working?
Answer: 57% of women participate in the labor force.
ii. Human capital. This is an attempt to measure the skills of the labor force. One rough measure is the education level of the population. What is the literacy rate (% of population that is 15 or older and that can read)? Is there a significant share of the population that has a university (tertiary) degree or higher?
What is the literacy rate (% of population that is 15 or older and that can read)? Is there a significant share of the population
Answer: “United States of America adult literacy rate remained stable at around 99 %. Adult (15+) literacy rate (%)”
(https://knoema.com/atlas/United-States-of-America/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate).
Is there a significant share of the population?
Answer: “30.4 percent of people over age 25 in the United States held at least a bachelor's degree, and 10.9 percent held a graduate degree, up from 26.2 percent and 8.7 percent 10 years earlier”.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/education/census-finds-bachelors-degrees-at-record-level.html)
2. A Production Possibility curve usually shows two different goods (which represent all of the goods produced in the economy). The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of final goods and services produced in the economy in a given year. Please report productivity and the current GDP or GNI for your country.
USA:
Current GDP: $19390.60 Billion
Population: 325.7 million
Growth rate: 4.2%
Annual Growth rate: 2.9%
From 2007-2017 nonfarm business sector: +1.2%
From 2007-2017 manufacturing sector: +0.7%
Sources: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod2.pdf
KENYA
1. Resources. The major resources of any economy that underlie its production possibilities are Land, Labor, and Capital. We will focus on Land and Labor. We will also consider what is known as Human Capital, which is the amount of skill or knowledge the labor of a country has. (Physical capital is much harder to measure, but you can provide it if there is data available).
a. Land and physical resources. How large is the economy’s amount (or endowment) of land?The most important land endowment for a country is its arable land per person. What is that ratio for your country? Is the climate temperate, subtropical or tropical? As we will learn more, climate plays an important role in terms of the ability to grow crops and the disease environment of a country.
Main questions:
How large is the economy's amount (or endowment) of land?
Answer: 580,367 sq km
What is the arable land per person ratio for your country?
Answer: “In 2015, arable land as a share of land area for Kenya was 10.2 %. Arable land as a share of land area of Kenya increased from 6.1 % in 1966 to 10.2 % in 2015 growing at an average annual rate of 1.15 %.” (https://knoema.com/atlas/Kenya/topics/Land-Use/Area/Arable-land-as-a-share-of-land-area)
What is the climate?
Answer:
b. An important part of the endowment of “Land” are natural resources. Are there any natural resources that are particularly important for your economy (minerals, water power, etc.)? You may want to see whether it exports (sells to other nations) products that reflect certain kinds of resources. For example, since the United States has lots of arable land, it exports lots of grain (arable land intensive) to other countries. Saudi Arabia has very little arable land, but its natural resources include significant deposits of oil.
Main Questions:
Are there any natural resources that are particularly important for your economy (minerals, water power, etc.)?
Answer:
“limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, oil, gas, gypsum, wildlife and hydropower”
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/print_2111.html).
What products does your country export that reflects kinds of resources?
Answer: Kenya's chief exports are horticultural products and tea.
c. Note that global warming implies a variety of threats to production possibilities. What threats are posed to your country by climate change? It gives you information on several dimensions of vulnerability.
Main Questions:
What threats are posed to your country by climate change?
Answer:
“Increasing sea temperatures can affect important biological processes of fish including growth, reproduction, swimming ability and behaviour”.
“Reproduction is only possible in a narrow temperature range, and therefore could be affected by the forecast temperature rises associated with climate change.”.
(http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/threats-to-the-reef/climate-change/what-does-this-mean-for-species/fish)
d. The labor force is the number of people in the entire population who are working. The labor force for a country can vary for several reasons. First, there is the age at which people begin work. In some countries, teen and child labor is important. The second influence is the age of retirement. Again, in some countries, there is not an effective retirement age; in others, it is relatively early. Finally, the participation of women in the labor force depends on several factors, including marital status.
Main Questions:
What is the age at which people begin to work?
Answer:
13: (Easy Work)
16: (Restricted working hours and the type of work)
18: (Unrestricted)
What is the retirement age?
Answer: 65
Mandatory retirement age: 70
What is the percentage of women who participate in the labor force?
Answer:
i. Number of workers (labor force). How many workers are there? What percentage of the population works? (Another way of describing this is the age-dependency ratio, which is the ratio of non-working people (older people and young people) to working people). This information is all from the World Development Indicators. Another important feature is the experience or age of the workers. The work of two groups may have an important impact on the overall experience levels. What percentage of children aged 10-14 is working? What percentage of women is working?
Main Questions:
How many workers are there?
Answer: 35.8 million persons
What percentage of the population works?
Answer: 66%
What percentage of children aged 10-14 is working?
Answer: 6.1%
What percentage of women is working?
Answer: 48.5%
ii. Human capital. This is an attempt to measure the skills of the labor force. One rough measure is the education level of the population. What is the literacy rate (% of population that is 15 or older and that can read)? Is there a significant share of the population that has a university (tertiary) degree or higher?
What is the literacy rate (% of population that is 15 or older and that can read)? Is there a significant share of the population
Answer: 78% male: 81.1% female: 74.9% (2015 est.)
Is there a significant share of the population?
Answer: 495000 of 48.46 million
2. A Production Possibility curve usually shows two different goods (which represent all of the goods produced in the economy). The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of final goods and services produced in the economy in a given year. Please report productivity and the current GDP or GNI for your country.
Kenya:
Current GDP: $74.94 Billion
Population: 48.46 million
Growth rate: 1.5%
Annual Growth rate: 6.3%
From 1963-2016 Services sector growing at +19.98%
In 2017: 45.38%
From 1963-2016 Agriculture sector has been declining at -21.41%
In 2017: 31.52%
From 1963-2016 Industry sector has been growing at +1.43% (see chart below)
In 2017: 17.5%
Sources: https://tradingeconomics.com/kenya/gdp
https://www.statista.com/statistics/451143/share-of-economic-sectors-in-the-gdp-in-kenya/
Difference Between Kenya and United States (Resources)
1. Resources. The major resources of any economy that underlie its production possibilities are Land, Labor, and Capital. We will focus on Land and Labor. We will also consider what is known as Human Capital, which is the amount of skill or knowledge the labor of a country has. (Physical capital is much harder to measure, but you can provide it if there is data available).
a. Land and physical resources. How large is the economy’s amount (or endowment) of land?The most important land endowment for a country is its arable land per person. What is that ratio for your country? Is the climate temperate, subtropical or tropical? As we will learn more, climate plays an important role in terms of the ability to grow crops and the disease environment of a country.
Main questions:
What is the difference of the economy's amount (or endowment) of land?
Answer: 9.834 million square kilometers – 580,367 sq km
The United States is much bigger than Kenya. Kenya is equivalent to the approximate size of Texas.
What is the difference of the arable land per person ratio for your country?
Answer: 10.2% vs.
The United States has more arable land per person ratio.
What is the difference in climate?
Answer:
b. An important part of the endowment of “Land” are natural resources. Are there any natural resources that are particularly important for your economy (minerals, water power, etc.)? You may want to see whether it exports (sells to other nations) products that reflect certain kinds of resources. For example, since the United States has lots of arable land, it exports lots of grain (arable land intensive) to other countries. Saudi Arabia has very little arable land, but its natural resources include significant deposits of oil.
Main Questions:
What is the difference of the natural resources?
Answer:
Kenya has more tea
United States has more coal
What is the difference of products that your country exports that reflects kinds of resources?
Answer:
Kenya exports tea
The United States exports
c. Note that global warming implies a variety of threats to production possibilities. What threats are posed to your country by climate change? It gives you information on several dimensions of vulnerability.
Main Questions:
What are the different threats that are posed to your country by climate change?
Answer:
Kenya: Loss of fish
United States: decline in its lobster catches. Natural disasters have already cost 23 million working life years since 2000
d. The labor force is the number of people in the entire population who are working. The labor force for a country can vary for several reasons. First, there is the age at which people begin work. In some countries, teen and child labor is important. The second influence is the age of retirement. Again, in some countries, there is not an effective retirement age; in others, it is relatively early. Finally, the participation of women in the labor force depends on several factors, including marital status.
Main Questions:
What is the difference of age at which people begin to work?
Answer:
United States starts restricted hours at age 16, whereas Kenya starts with easy work at age 13.
What is the difference of the retirement age?
Answer: Retirement for the United States is 1 year later. 66 vs. 65 years.
What is the difference of the percentage of women who participate in the labor force?
Answer: 57-48.5 = 8.5
The United States has 8.5% more women who participate in the labor force.
i. Number of workers (labor force). How many workers are there? What percentage of the population works? (Another way of describing this is the age-dependency ratio, which is the ratio of non-working people (older people and young people) to working people). This information is all from the World Development Indicators. Another important feature is the experience or age of the workers. The work of two groups may have an important impact on the overall experience levels. What percentage of children aged 10-14 is working? What percentage of women is working?
Main Questions:
What is the difference of how many workers are there?
Answer: 160 million-35.8 million
The United States has 124.2 million more workers
What is the difference of the percentage of the population works?
Answer: 66%-66%
There is no difference.
What is the difference of the percentage of children aged 10-14 is working?
Answer: 6.1%-0%=6.1
Kenya has 6.1% more children working in the workforce.
What is the difference of the percentage of women is working?
Answer: 57-48.5= 8.5%
The United States has 8.5% more women working in the workforce
ii. Human capital. This is an attempt to measure the skills of the labor force. One rough measure is the education level of the population. What is the literacy rate (% of population that is 15 or older and that can read)? Is there a significant share of the population that has a university (tertiary) degree or higher?
What is the difference of literacy rate (% of population that is 15 or older and that can read)?
Answer: 99-74.9=24.1
The United States has a 24.1% higher literacy rate than Kenya
Is there a difference in a significant share of the population?
Answer:
495000 of 48.46 million vs. 30.4 percent
Kenya has a higher significant share of the population.
Sources:
https://www.worldbank.org
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/kenya-population/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html
http://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/country-size-comparison/kenya/texas-usa
Works Cited:
Amadeo, Kimberly. “6 Natural Resources That Gave the U.S. Economy a Boost.” The Balance, www.thebalance.com/how-natural-resources-boost-the-u-s-economy-3306228.
“Climate Change Impacts on Fish.” Australia Government – Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority,
www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/threats-to-the-reef/climate-change/what-does-this-mean-for-species/fish.
“Kenya – Share of Economic Sectors in the Gross Domestic Product 2017 | Statistic.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/451143/share-of-economic-sectors-in-the-gdp-in-kenya/.
“Landlocked Countries: Higher Transport Costs, Delays, Less Trade.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2008/06/16/landlocked-countries-higher-transport-costs-delays-less-trade.
PÉREZ-PEÑA, RICHARD. “Census Finds Bachelor's Degrees at Record Level.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Feb. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/education/census-finds-bachelors-degrees-at-record-level.html.
“United States GDP 1960-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News.” United States GDP | 1960-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News, tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp.
“United States of America Adult Literacy Rate, 2007-2017.” Knoema, knoema.com/atlas/United-States-of-America/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate.
3 Exports
a. Please find the ratio of exports to GDP for your country over time.
Also, we can usually divide a country's exports into those from manufacturing, agriculture, or minerals. Use the World Development Indicators to graph these percentages for your economy for as many years as you can (back to 1960 if possible).
Source: (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS)
c. What are the three most important exports of your country by value? You can use the CIA Factbook for these data.
The U.S.’s total value of exports is $1.576 trillion (2017 est.). The U.S.’s three most important exports are capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) (49.0% / $772.24 million), industrial supplies (organic chemicals) (26.8% / $422.368 million), and consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) (15.0% / $236.4 million).
Source: (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html)
d. What kinds of products does your country import? Are they similar or different from the goods it exports? For example, does your country import a lot of food and export a lot of manufactures? Or, does it export and import both food and manufactures?
The U.S.’s total value of imports is $2.352 trillion (2017 est.). The U.S. imports agricultural products (4.9%), industrial supplies (32.9%, crude oil 8.2%), capital goods (30.4%: computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), and consumer goods (31.8%: automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys). (2008 est.) The imports are similar to the exports in that the three most important exports: capital goods, industrial supplies, and consumer goods, are also the top imports by value. The U.S. therefore both exports and imports these goods.
Source: (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html)
3 Exports
a. Please find the ratio of exports to GDP for your country over time. (Suggestions: you may use the graphing feature of the World Development Indicators Database.)
Also, we can usually divide a country's exports into those from manufacturing, agriculture, or minerals. Use the World Development Indicators to graph these percentages for your economy for as many years as you can (back to 1960 if possible).
Source: (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS)
c. What are the three most important exports of your country by value? You can use the CIA Factbook for these data.
Kenya’s total value of exports is $4.7 billion (2016 est.). Kenya’s three most important exports are tea 23.3% ($1.09 billion), cut flowers 14.3% ($674 million), and coffee 4.7% ($219 million).
Compared to Kenya, the U.S.’s total value of exports is much higher ($1.576 trillion vs. $4.7 billion). The U.S. has the majority of its exports being occupied by a couple of categories (ex. capital goods 49%) while Kenya’s largest export, tea, only comprises 23.3% of the total exports. The U.S. also seems to export goods more characteristic of a modern, industrialized economy (industrial supplies, capital goods, consumer goods) compared to that of Kenya (tea, cut flowers, coffee).
Source: (https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/ken/)
d. What kinds of products does your country import? Are they similar or different from the goods it exports? For example, does your country import a lot of food and export a lot of manufactures? Or, does it export and import both food and manufactures?
Kenya’s total value of imports is $15.8 billion (2016 est.). Kenya imports refined petroleum (8.05%), packaged medicaments (3.1%), cars (2.8%), telephones (1.7%), wheat (1.6%), and rice (1.4%). The country’s imports are extremely diversified, with refined petroleum occupying the largest portion of total imports. These goods are completely different than the ones the country exports (tea, cut flowers, coffee).
Compared to Kenya, the U.S has a much smaller import list: 3 categories occupy over 90% of total imports, while Kenya’s top 3 imports only comprise 14% of the total. The U.S.’s total value of imports is significantly larger than Kenya’s: $2.352 trillion vs $15.8 billion.
Source: (https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/ken/)
Economic Growth
A- Comparing Kenya and the United States
GDP per capita- 3,500 United States GDP per capita- 59,500
Comparing Kenya and the United States, there is a large difference between their GDP per capita- the United States measured a GDP per capita of 59,500 in 2017 whereas Kenya measured a 3,500 GDP per capita in the same year. This can be attributed to many different factors including available resources, land, and education levels.
Resources/Land- Looking at available resources, the United States seems to have the advantage, which can largely be attributed to its larger size. The US has oil, as well as large quantities of arable land. In comparison, most of Kenya’s land is not arable due to its climate, which effects it’s export potential of agricultural products. Much of Kenya’s major resources are wildlife, which is heavily impacted by climate change and can negatively impact their efficiency in producing these goods.
Education- Kenya’s literacy rate is 78%, while the United States has a literacy rate of 99% of the population. The difference in literacy rate is an influencer of the difference in GDP per capita, as the more educated people a country has, the more opportunities will be opened.
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html)
B- Which country seems to be best taking advantage of opportunities for trade? Which country is doing the least to trade?
Both the United States and Kenya are highly active in world trade, although the vast difference in GDP can be seen as an indicator of the differences between to two economies in terms of trade. Although they are both active in trading, the resources available in the regions along with the technology are influencers of the countries imports/exports. As previously discussed, Kenya’s top produced items are horticultural items, while it imports a wide range of items such as cars, technology like telephones, wheat, etc. Considering the available resources in Kenya, they seem to be taking advantage of what is available to them. Their lack of arable land considerable cuts down on what they can produce and export to other countries. I believe this country is at a disadvantage because of their available resources, but is best taking advantage of their trade opportunities, as they are trading the products which they are able to produce, such as tea, flour, minerals like titanium and gold, etc.) while importing other products which they do not yet have the capability of producing themselves (or if they do it is too expensive). With higher education rates and increases in technology, Kenya’s horizons for what is possible to produce will open up to new possibilities.
The United States on the other hand has a higher percentage of arable land and has more lucrative products which are being produced and exported. The arable land available creates the possibility for production of agricultural products. Although the United States has a vastly higher GDP, it is important to note that the US has a negative trade balance, meaning that the value of imports into the country is higher than that of exports. The United States top exports are many of the same products which it also imports- computers, petroleum, cars, and aircrafts. Because of this and other factors which include the U.S. negative trade balance, I believe they are not maximizing their trade potential. While Kenya also has a trade balance that is negative, it is only -11.1 billion as opposed to the United States negative balance of -791 billion. Although the United States has a stronger and more stable economy, they could be trading in a more strategic way to optimize the opportunities available.
https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/usa/
The United States:
Which country in your group has the best record of economic growth over the past 12 years or so? The worst record?
C. The United States and Kenya are vastly different nations in regards to economic, political, and social development. In the past 12 years, the economy of The United States has experienced massive economic recession and boom while Kenya generally has experienced an economic incline since 2002. With the explosion of the housing market in 2007, the US economy spiraled into recession causing global financial markets to suffer. However, since 2010 different initiatives by the US government such as the Emergency Stabilization Act of 2008 asked at economic stimulus jumpstarting US investment institutions back to economic prosperity. Since 2010, the US economy generally speaking as seen an incline of jobs, wages, and investment. Comparatively, the Kenyan economy is market based and acts as a regional financial hub. In 2017, economic growth was capped at 4.3% and in 2018 it is expected to rise to 6%. In The United States economic growth percentage for 2017 was 2.3%. Although Kenya is currently experiencing more growth per capita, the US economy is immense compared to Kenya with US GDP being 18.57 trillion USD and Kenya having 70.53 billion USD. In terms of exports Kenya is ranked 101st in the world with $6.23 billion, however the US is 2nd with $1.56 trillion. The United States is a major producers of technology and private firms which hinder economic growth. The inflation rate in Kenya is 9.4% while the US is 2.1%. This large difference can be attributed to the fact that the USD is one or the largered and most stable currencies around the world while the Kenyan shilling is unique to Kenya. Monetary stability in Kenya is also not as durable due to the rampant corruption that in the Kenyan government and private industries. Finally, unemployment in Kenya is five times larger than the American comparison with a whopping 40% of the population while the US only faces 8.1%. Therefore, one can conclude that the US is a stronger, more stable, and much more powerful player with respect to economic growth. Although Kenya faces many economic problems, policies involving the World Bank and the IMF have liberalized the Kenyan economy introducing economic stimulus.
C.
There are several possibilities for the factors that lead to a good or bad record:
i. They include mineral or land resources (arable land per capita)
ii. Lots of trade (compared with very little trade)
iii. A highly educated population (vs. a poorly educated population).
iv. Lots of investment compared with GDP
When you look at all of the countries in your group, rank these three factors in terms of their importance for accounting for a good or poor growth performance.
USA:
Lots of Trade
Lots of Investment Compared with GDP
A Highly Educated Population
Agricultural Resources
Kenya
Lots of Trade
Lots of investment compared with GDP
Agricultural Resources
A Highly Educated Population
Sources:
The sources that I used to gather my information included:
Nation master: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Kenya/United-States/Economy
Trading Economics:
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth-annual
Kenya Currency:
http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/kenya-currency.html
These different sources allowed me to research the different aspects of the Kenyan economy with respect to exports, education, industry and trade. Seeing how The United States is one of the largest most powerful nations, there was an abundance of information that I could have used. I attempted to narrow down my information search by using well-known websites that offer the most reliable information. The comparison between Kenya and The United States is very broad so establishing the barriers was not difficult.