Once more, L.A.’s reputation as a “company town” has been shattered.

In a report released last week by the L.A. Economic Development Corp., the county’s $352 billion economy would rank 16th in the world if it were a separate nation.

That’s greater than the entire economy of Russia.

“There’s the image and the myth that all we do is make movies, that we’re crazy, self-centered and that all we care about is looks, but the report shows that we do business very well,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the LAEDC.

The study finds that movie production accounted for just $31 billion, or 8 percent of the total. International trade, tourism, technology, more unglamorous manufacturing sectors like food products and professional business services bolstered the local economy, according to the report.

The figures for GDP were based on 2000 personal income and employment data. The data for the national economies were based on information from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development using last week’s exchange rates.

Driven by the success of the Southern California economy last year, the state of California ranked as the world’s fifth largest economy, up a notch from 1999.

Currency fluctuations, which increased the value of the U.S. dollar versus currencies in Europe and Asia, had a lot to do with the impressive state and county rankings, according to Kyser.

“But the figures show that almost all sectors of the local economy are doing fine, with the only laggards being apparel and aerospace,” Kyser said.

The report does not reflect the energy crisis or carnage from the tech wreck, events that will have an impact on this year’s results. That will come as good news to the French, some of whom were not pleased that the state of California pulled ahead of France, which ranked No. 4 in 1999.

“The report has already gotten anguished calls from the French media,” Kyser said.