Economic Writing

Political Economy

What is the correlation between politics and the economy? Does the national economy do better under certain political parties and with certain economic policies than others?

I read a book a few years ago called Unequal Democracy, by Larry Bartels, which argues that the national economy does significantly better when a Democrat is in the White House than when a Republican is President. I reviewed the book for a legal magazine, and the review is here: Unequal Democracy.

I also did some research on the issue on the internet, and came up with an analysis by an economist at the University of Nevada named Elliot Parker that proves essentially the same point. That paper is available here: Does the Party In Power Matter for Economic Performance?

Still not satisfied, I did some research on my own, and collated a variety of economic statistics for the post war period. These statistics do indicate that the American Economy does grow more when a Democrat is President than when a Republican is President. That analysis is available here: Red Economy versus Blue Economy.

The national economy has obviously slowed in the last decade or so. Why is this? Conservatives blame liberals: liberal economic policy as well as liberal social policy. But are liberals really to blame? I explore the issue here: What Went Wrong and Who To Blame.