Economic Policy

Guide: Economic Policy

This list provides an overview of the major challenges and goals of economic policymaking. A series of documents illustrate the conflicting partisan viewpoints on the role of government in shaping the economy. Use the Export to My Lists button above to turn this into a research list for your students.

Theme Key Understandings

• Governments' approaches to regulation change over time based on domestic and global circumstances
• American domestic policies span a spectrum from a free-market approach to a highly regulatory approach
• A citizen's opinion on the need for regulation generally depends on his or her role in society
• Social and economic policies form the basis of domestic policy
• Through social policy, government officials can provide programs and services to maintain and improve citizen welfare
• Through economic policy, the government seeks to maintain stability for the national economy
• Foreign policies are influenced by the accepted doctrine of a time period, which is often shaped in reaction to world events
• The executive branch plays the leading role in directing foreign policy

Key Questions

• Describe the different approaches represented by supply-side and demand-side fiscal policy. How are these policies reflected in the platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties in the modern day United States?
• Briefly describe the primary areas where the U.S. government spends money. What surprises you the most about where government spending goes?

Resources

1. Overview: Economic Policy
2. Outlines: Outline
3. Transcripts: Transcript
4. Lesson: Introduction
5. Lesson: 1-Economic Policy
6. Lesson: 2-Taxation
7. Lesson: 3-Government Spending
8. Lesson: 4-Deficit Spending and the Debt
9. Lesson: Closing
10. Glossary Terms: discretionary spending
11. Glossary Terms: mandatory spending
12. Facts & Figures: CBO Long Term Spending Projections as a Percentage of GDP (2018)
13. Reference Articles: Capitalism
14. Reference Articles: Economic Freedom
15. Reference Articles: Reagan Administration: Supply-Side Economics
16. Biographies: Friedman, Milton
17. Biographies: Keynes, John Maynard
18. Speeches: McConnell, Mitch: remarks on the Budget Control Act (2011)
19. Speeches: Obama, Barack: Remarks on fiscal policy (2011)