Economy of Indiana
Indiana's earliest economy revolved around trade with the Native American tribes in the northern and central parts of the state, which were connected by rivers to the Great Lakes, and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean.Although the basis was established in the Northwest Ordinance[11] and well known, economic growth was slow to begin in the state, primarily due to the inability to ship goods to market affordably.[12] The Indiana General Assembly attempted to remedy the transportation system in the late 1810s, but was thwarted by the Panic of 1819 which caused the state's only two banks to collapse.The 1860s Indiana in the American Civil War rapidly completed the state's railroad system and accelerated the growth of industry.Indiana rapidly became a manufacturing powerhouse in the first 20 years of the 20th Century, as steel, oil refining, automobiles, railroad rolling stock, and consumer and industrial appliance companies established themselves, taking advantage of Indiana's central location, cheap and plentiful land, and the lower costs associated with smaller industrial cities.Foreign competition, corporate mergers, automation, and new management strategies lead to downsizing, mass layoffs, diversification, and chronic unemployment.The Indiana Geological Survey was conducting a study to catalogue all potentially exploitable sources of geothermal heat in the state.Indiana is home to the international headquarters of pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, the state's largest corporation.Elkhart has also had a strong economic base of pharmaceuticals, though it has decreased over with the closure of Whitehall Laboratories in the 1990s and of the large Bayer complex, announced in late 2005.[28] Overall, Indiana ranks fifth among all U.S. states in total sales and shipments of pharmaceutical products and second highest in the number of biopharmaceutical related jobs.