ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical trends in New York's economy, including the growth in financial services. It considers the main sources of employment and income in recent decades, and situates the city's economy in the wider US economy. At the start of the Civil War in 1860, New York was clearly the dominant city in the US economy, with more people located there than anywhere else in the country. However, the thorough shake-out of manufacturing industry during the period from the mid-1970s through to the early 1980s eventually restored profitability and paved the way for the national economy to recover. The spreading 'financialisation' of the economy meant much more than just the growth in finance firms. It also was evinced in the increasing reliance of non-financial firms on financial methods as a source of profits ranging from developing credit subsidiaries. The crash has certainly revealed that the city's economy is vulnerable if it remains so reliant on financial services.
