The Economic Problems Trump Inherits
Three Harvard professors discuss the economic challenges the new president will have to grapple with as he takes office.
The second in a three-part series of roundtable discussions, produced in collaboration with HKS Magazine, on the challenges facing President-elect Trump in foreign policy, economics, and leadership.
At a glance, the U.S. economy today is about as strong as it has ever been. The markets have recovered from the depths of the Great Recession, unemployment is low, GDP has steadily risen, and there are even signs that real wages are beginning to increase for the first time in decades.
But if you followed the 2016 presidential election, you might not know it.
Although the campaign was pitched on many fronts, voter frustration over the state of the economy was a major theme. And if you look past the top-line numbers, it’s not hard to understand why.
Several decades of stagnant middle class wages have driven income inequality higher than ever, and economic mobility is falling. The price of healthcare and higher education continue to rise well above inflation. And if that weren’t enough, innovations like the gig economy and automation are poised to introduce major shifts in the very nature of work in the 21st century.
To too many Americans, the American dream seems on the retreat.
On this week’s PolicyCast, our faculty roundtable looks to the future of the American economy, discussing the challenges that await Donald Trump as he assumes office.
Dean Douglas Elmendorf led the Congressional Budget Office for six years before becoming dean of Harvard Kennedy School in 2016.
Professor Brigitte Madrian is a behavioral economist who has been focused on household savings and investment behavior. Her work has lifted the veil on how individuals make decisions on saving for retirement.
Professor David Ellwood is a leading expert on poverty and welfare in the United States. In 2015 he stepped down from his decade long tenure as dean of the Kennedy School, and has turned his attention to issues related to inequality and mobility as Director of the Wiener Center for Social Policy.
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Matt Cadwallader has been the host of Harvard Kennedy School PolicyCast for nearly five years, interviewing more than 150 guests on all manner of issues related to public policy, governance, and international affairs.
