12 September 2020

Comparing the Stock Market and Labor Market During Democratic and Republican Presidencies

Which one of the three following arguments is definitely not supported by the data we have on presidents since 1977?

1. Republican presidents are better for the economy than Democratic presidents.
2. Democratic presidents are better for the economy than Republican presidents.
3. The economy does what the economy does and it is far too complicated to argue that either Democratic or Republican presidents make any difference.

(Punchline: it is 1.)


The data for these numbers is at
https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet
Since Carter, the economy has created 2.2 million jobs per year when Democrats have had the presidency and 600,000 jobs per year when Republicans have.

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