Changes in the structure of the economy is a theme that runs through U.S. economic history. Studying history can provide a new perspective on recent patterns of structural change and on the potential for further change in the 21st century.

Changes in the structure of the economy is a theme that runs through U.S. economic history. Studying history can provide a new perspective on recent patterns of structural change and on the potential for further change in the 21st century.

The structure of the economy can be described by what we produce (output of goods, services, or structures), for whom we produce (households, businesses, government, or the rest of the world), or how we produce (with inputs from the primary sector, secondary (goods) sector, or tertiary sector).

Choose two different time periods, each from a different century. Describe the structure of the economy in that period: what was being produced, in what sectors workers were employed. Discuss what changes evolved, what the forces for change were, and who was directly affected. Discuss the reaction to structural change.

Conclude your essay by explaining how these examples from history can provide a new perspective on recent patterns of structural change or on the potential for further change in the 21st century.