Econ of Presidential Elections

Catalog description

This course is offered every fall of a presidential election year. In 1992, James Carville, then candidate Bill Clinton's campaign manager, coined the phrase "the economy, stupid." The implication was that the economy was the number one issue for voters. A New York Times/Sienna poll found that among voters 18-29 in swing states, 62% said economic issues would be more important in determining their vote in 2024. And these young adults think that the economy is doing terribly. Less than half of one percent said the state of the economy is “excellent;” just 7% said “good” or “very good;” and the remaining 93% said “only fair” or “poor.” Inflation had decreased dramatically, unemployment was a record lows and GDP growth was strong. In this course, we will discuss the major economic policy issues of the 2024 presidential election, including health care, immigration, climate change, federal budget and taxation, trade and tariffs, minimum wage, and SNAP. The two major parties' policy platforms will be our primary texts. They will be supplemented by readings from the economics literature, campaign policy briefs and articles from the media. We will also study some topics in the economics of voting, including ranked choice voting and whether it is rational to vote at all.