Prospects for Economic Growth in the United States

Description

Although economic growth has historically been an engine of prosperity in the United States, recent trends have generated uncertainty regarding the prospects for sustaining such growth. Economists disagree about the relative importance of many factors affecting future growth, including rapid technological advances, immigration, the growth of the financial sector, problems with the educational system, increasing income inequality, an aging population, and large fiscal imbalances that have not been addressed by the political system. This collection of chapters, authored by many of today's leading economists, addresses the prospects for economic growth in the United States over the next few decades. During a time of great economic uncertainty, this book engages with both sides in the debate over economic growth, focusing on policy options that increase the prospects for vigorous economic growth in the future.

John W. Diamond is the Director at the Center for Public Finance, and the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance at Rice University's Baker Institute. George R. Zodrow is the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Professor of Economics and Economics Department Chair at Rice University, and Faculty Scholar at the Center for Public Finance at Rice University's Baker Institute.

'What are the prospects for economic growth, and what can government policies do to enhance them? In a wide-ranging study with contributions by an array of leading economists, Diamond and Zodrow provide a comprehensive peek into the future of the US economy, giving us insight into the nature of technological progress and the role that tax, regulatory, immigration, environmental, and education policies play in shaping and harnessing growth to generate broadly shared improvements in living standards.' Alan J. Auerbach, University of California, Berkeley 'Understanding the causes and nature of economic growth is one of the oldest and most important tasks economists can pursue. The papers in this very readable volume are written by leading scholars and provide careful analysis and a comprehensive view of the factors that affect economic growth - including education, immigration, technological change, aging, and tax and fiscal policy. It will be a useful resource for economists and non-economists alike and an invaluable guide to policy makers as economies emerge from the havoc created by the coronavirus.' William Gale, Brookings Institution 'Fostering more rapid economic growth is more important than ever. As countries around the globe seek to recover from the devastating economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will a search for the secrets to growth. Look no further than Prospects for Economic Growth in the United States. John Diamond's and George Zodrow's chosen authors and topics have produced a tour de force of growth analysis that is one-stop shopping for policymakers.' Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum