American economic policy in the 1980s

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Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 reflected widespread public discontent with high inflation, rising personal taxes, and increasing government spending. Committed to reversing the economic trends of...

Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 reflected widespread public discontent with high inflation, rising personal taxes, and increasing government spending. Committed to reversing the economic trends of the 1960s and 1970s, Reagan sought to bring about essential changes in the American economy through smaller government and decreased spending on domestic programs. His election marked a return to traditional market-oriented ideas and a shift away from the Keynsian economics that defined the postwar decades.

The policy changes he introduced included reallocation of public spending and serious reforms in the tax system. Taxes were lowered and inflation was brought down, but the changes also produced a spiraling government debt. The sharpest post-World War II recession preceded nearly eight years of strong economic growth.

In American Economic Policy in the 1980s, policy makers in the Reagan administration and leaders in academia provide a comprehensive look at the fundamental economic reforms of the 1980s and offer their unique views of how and why economic policy developed the way it did.

In his substantial introductory essay, Martin Feldstein thoughtfully comments on aspects of policy with which he was closely involved as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (1982-1984): monetary and exchange rate policy, tax policy, and budget issues. Feldstein offers his judgments on these policies and illuminates the policy strategies of the 1980s as only an insider can.

The eleven chapters that follow deal with a variety of domestic and international issues, including developments in regulation and antitrust, as well as monetary, trade, tax, and budget policies. Each chapter begins with a scholarly background study, is complemented by personal essays from former policy makers, and is followed by discussions among the contributors.

. The volume provides an authoritative record of the economic reforms characteristic of the Reagan era, and it will be the standard reference for everyone, economists and laypersons alike, interested in the hows and whys of American economic policy in the 1980s.

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