In 2011, the U.S. automobile industry appeared to be recovering as the overall economy improved. Suppose, though, that the following unlikely event had occurred: Because of the severity of the 2007–2009 recessions, all U.S.-based automobile firms had closed.
a. What would be the direct impact of the failure of the automobile industry?
b. What other industries are closely connected to the automobile industry? How would these industries have been affected by the failure of the U.S. automobile firms?
c. Would there have been other multiplier effects? If so, briefly describe what they would have been.