BERKELEY, California ¨C The New York Times famously prepares obituaries for notable individuals well in advance of their death. Now that President Joe Biden¡¯s administration is about to expire, an elegy is in order for its economic achievements, failures and missed opportunities.
The administration¡¯s achievements are self-evident, at least to the clear-eyed analyst ¡ª if not, as it appears, to the average voter. In Biden¡¯s four years, the U.S. outperformed virtually every other advanced economy in terms of output, employment and productivity growth.
Despite inheriting an unemployment rate of 6.3% in January 2021 and an elevated level of pandemic-related uncertainty, the administration drove unemployment down to just 4% in its first 12 months, where it essentially remained throughout Biden¡¯s term.
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