There are several ways in which the Cold War contributed to economic growth in the United States. The main reason for this was technological change. The United States wanted to make sure that it would be able to compete against the Soviet Union when it came to influencing other nations. In order to do so, the United States invested heavily in technology to ensure it had an advantage over the Soviet Union. This led to many advancements in trade, agriculture, space exploration and many other areas of society and the economy.