American economic
policy IN THE 1990S
The 1990s saw the best
economic performance in the United States in three decades. Strong economic growth and
falling unemployment were accompanied by low inflation and rising budget surpluses.
Although personal bankruptcies climbed, the personal saving rate fell, and the trade
deficit expanded, overall U.S. economic performance during the 1990s was outstanding.
This book is a unique attempt
to write the first history of the making of American economic policy during the 1990s.
Each chapter is devoted to a particular area of economic policy and consists of a
background paper written by leading academic economists and short essays by prominent
policymakers, many from the Clinton administration or previous administrations, and by
independent observers. The questions asked about each policy area include:
What were the pros and cons
of alternative options? What decision was made? What were the economic arguments for that
decision, and what political interests were served? Is it possible to judge whether the
decision was the right one? Are there lessons for the future?
Jeffrey A. Frankel is James W
Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Economic Growth at the Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University. Peter R. Orszag is a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at
the Brookings Institution.
"A'merican Economic
Policy in the 1990s sets the standard for timely yet rigorous analysis of economic policy.
The volume's breadth and quality will make it the comprehensive reference on the events of
and lessons to be learned from the 1990s. As an economist and as a policy-maker, I highly
recommend it." Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics, former
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and former Chief Economist of the World Bank
"American Economic
Policy in the 1990s provides a comprehensive overview, offers important insights, and
debates many lessons good, bad, and ugly, depending on perspective from many of the
participants in policy formulation and implementation in the Clinton years. Must reading
for students and would-be policymakers alike." Michael J. Boskin,T. M. Friedman
Professor of Economics and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow, Stanford University, and
former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisers (1989-93) ,
"American Economic
Policy in the 1990s begins the important historical debate about the policies and
personalities that produced a balanced federal budget and the strongest economic growth in
American history. For those of us who were part of the Clinton Administration, the views
presented here are vital guideposts not just to the past but to the future as well." Leon
E. Panetta, Former Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Chief of Staff in
the Clinton Administration the United States from 1990 to 2000. The graph was computed for
each quarter relative to that quarter the vear before: for examcle. 1995-1 V is comoared
to 1994-IV
1114 pages