{"id":1417,"date":"2024-02-16T15:58:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T15:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2024-06-24T16:00:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T16:00:18","slug":"bidenomics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/2024\/02\/16\/bidenomics\/","title":{"rendered":"Bidenomics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"college
\nCenter for Policy Studies
\nPublic Affairs Discussion Group<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Bidenomics<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\"headshot\"<\/p>\n

Susan Helper, Ph.D. – Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
Friday February 16, 2024
\n12:30-1:30 p.m.
\nMeeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
\nDampeer Room, Second Floor of Kelvin Smith Library<\/strong><\/span>*<\/strong><\/span>
\nCase Western Reserve University<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Colleagues:<\/span><\/p>\n

When I hear \u201cBidenomics\u201d I think of three things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first is \u201cObamacare.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Many people began using each term as a negative label. In the case of Obamacare, it referred not to anything that was actually happening (the term was common long before the Affordable Care Act was being implemented) but a bogey-man: the \u201cgovernment takeover\u201d that supposedly threatened peoples\u2019 health care. When Republicans talk about Bidenomics, in contrast, they are blaming the administration for things that have already occurred. They take everything bad that people might think is happening in the economy, and<\/span>\u00a0slap Joe Biden\u2019s name on it<\/u><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

My second thought for years has been, \u201cI\u2019d really like to get Sue Helper to talk about this at the Friday Lunch.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Because, as I explain below, there really is such a thing as \u201cBidenomics,\u201d it\u2019s not just a label thought up by opponents, and\u00a0Professor Helper has been a major contributor to the line of work that has brought us to this point.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In short, Bidenomics is a policy approach that includes a wide range of measures and is based on judgments about what is most important for the economy. That also means that some other variables \u2013 such as the level of budget deficits, or encouraging \u201centrepreneurship\u201d with low taxes \u2013 are much less important than in other theories.<\/p>\n

For over three decades Professor Helper has done research that addresses the importance of manufacturing within the US economy, how global supply chains affect regional economies, the advantages or not of \u201coutsourcing\u201d internationally vs. producing in the United States, how more positive labor relations might strengthen companies\u2019 bottom lines, and how US manufacturing could be revitalized. During the Obama Administration she served on the staff of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) and then as Chief Economist for the Department of Commerce. In the Biden Administration she served as Senior Economist for the CEA and then Senior Advisor for Industrial Strategy with the White House Office of Management and Budget. Her work is closely linked to the Biden administration\u2019s policies, so\u00a0few guests would be as able to explain the \u201cwhat\u201d and the \u201cwhy\u201d of Bidenomics.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please pardon a bit more background on why I find her work so central (and obviously from her appointments, so do colleagues in the administration).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The third thing I think when I hear \u201cBidenomics\u201d is: \u201cit\u2019s about time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, demand management through fiscal policy, or Keynesianism, seemed<\/span>\u00a0finally to be accepted<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0as the way government should try to help the economy. Even<\/span>\u00a0Richard Nixon<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0seemed to agree, rejecting his party\u2019s long emphasis on balancing the budget even during economic downturns. Almost immediately thereafter however, \u2013 partly due to effects of the first oil shock \u2013 faith in Keynesian demand management was shaken.<\/p>\n

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as I explained in<\/span>\u00a0my first book<\/u><\/span><\/a>, three alternatives were promoted. One, monetarism, claimed that the economy could be favorably stabilized in the short term by managing the money supply, rather than the budget. The second, \u201csupply side economics,\u201d claimed that the key to a better economy was to encourage \u201csupply\u201d rather than \u201cdemand,\u201d and that \u201csupply\u201d would be encouraged by increasing the rewards of investment \u2013 basically with tax cuts on wealthier Americans. The two were merged in the Reagan administration\u2019s economic policies.<\/p>\n

The third view did not get so far. It was called \u201cindustrial policy,\u201d and it focused especially on the decline in manufacturing jobs with good wages. From this perspective, the basic question was what government could do to promote good jobs, and that would likely involve far more direct attempts to affect economic activity than followed from Keynesian fiscal policy, monetarism, or the conservative \u201csupply side\u201d view \u2013 all of which relied on managing large aggregates (taxes, spending, money supply) though they disagreed about how to do that. From one perspective, there was nothing new about this approach. \u201cProponents of mobilizing US government support for domestic manufacturing \u2013 and creating a homegrown industrial policy,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0a 2021 briefing<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0from the Peterson Institute for International Economics explained, \u201cmay not realize it, but they are channeling an approach first introduced in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton.\u201d Support for specific industries was a major theme of 19th century policy, through the tariff. But as industrial policy ideas were being developed in the late 1970s, they met a fervent pushback from the best-known mainstream Democratic policy economists. They did not want the government interfering with markets to that extent, \u201cpicking winners.\u201d One of the most influential told me that he and his colleagues advised Walter Mondale to emphasize the budget deficit in his 1984 presidential campaign because they worried that, otherwise, he would focus on trade restrictions to protect industrial sectors.<\/p>\n

The industrial policy approach therefore faded as an influence on policy-making. It became the Road Not Taken. But scholarly work continued to be done, and there was occasional modest legislation. And over the past two decades the further hollowing-out of American manufacturing (as an employer and source of middle-class incomes) made Democratic politicians far more willing to define the economy\u2019s main problems as a need for public investment in both physical and human capital.<\/p>\n

Many of these ideas are the background for Biden\u2019s \u201c<\/span>Build Back Better<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u201d initiatives. By<\/span>\u00a0the administration\u2019s own account<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0this past June, there is a \u201cBidenomics\u201d and it has \u201cthree key pillars\u201d: \u201cMaking smart public investments in America,\u201d \u201cEmpowering and educating workers to grow the middle class,\u201d and \u201cPromoting competition to lower costs and help entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive,\u201d which includes among other things \u201cfull and aggressive enforcement of our antitrust laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the kinds of policies that Professor Helper will help us understand.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In-Person and Virtual Attendance<\/h3>\n

We will meet this week in our regular location, the Dampeer Room on the second floor of Kelvin Smith Library.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We continue also to offer the meetings on Zoom. We do require pre-registering so as to avoid \u201czoom-bombing.\u201d The pre-registration link is posted below.<\/p>\n

The discussion begins at 12:30 p.m., but the room should be open no later than Noon. We try to have beverages and refreshments set up soon after that. Participants should be able to sign on to Zoom also by Noon. But please remember not much will be happening online until the talk begins at 12:30 pm. Please also be prepared to show identification when entering Kelvin Smith Library.<\/p>\n

Zoom participants should speak up when asked for questions or comments, or submit thoughts through Zoom\u2019s chat function. Please keep yourself muted until you are choosing to speak.<\/p>\n

Each week we will send out this newsletter with information about the topic. It will also include a link to register (for free) for the discussion.<\/strong>\u00a0When you register, you will automatically receive from the Zoom system the link to join the meeting. If you do not get the newsletter, you should also be able to get the information each Monday by checking<\/span>\u00a0http:\/\/fridaylunch.case.edu<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0Then if you choose you can use the contact form on that website to request the registration link.<\/span><\/p>\n

This week’s Zoom link for registration is:<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/cwru.zoom.us\/meeting\/register\/tJMqdeqpqDksEtxa8ZS8sVRW_yS3gNA-BtYO<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.<\/p>\n

Please also e-mail<\/span>\u00a0padg@case.edu<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0if you have questions about arrangements or any suggestions. Or call at 216 368-2426 and we’ll try to get back to you.<\/p>\n

Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,<\/p>\n

Joe White
\nLuxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

About Our Guest<\/span><\/h3>\n

Susan Helper<\/strong>\u00a0is the Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She was formerly Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce and a member of the White House Staff. She has served as chair of the Economics Department, and has been a visiting scholar at University of Oxford, the University of California (Berkeley), Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her research focuses on the globalization of supply chains, and on how U.S. manufacturing might be revitalized. Dr. Helper received her Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard and her BA from Oberlin College in Economics, Government and Spanish.<\/span><\/p>\n

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

February 23:\u00a0<\/strong>Taiwan and China: Questions and Answers.\u00a0<\/strong>With\u00a0Julia C. Strauss, Ph.D.<\/strong>, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (speaker will participate by Zoom).<\/p>\n

March 1: Inside State Energy Politics.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Daniel Gray<\/strong>, Founder and Director of Local Strategies, Citizens Utility Board of Ohio.<\/p>\n

March 8: The 2024 Elections.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Colin Swearingen, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Associate Professor of Political Science, John Carroll University.<\/p>\n

March 15: Spring Break<\/strong><\/p>\n

March 22: Thinking About Generative AI.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Satya Sahoo, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Associate Professor, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Science and Director, Biomedical and Health Informatics Ph.D. Program.<\/p>\n

March 29: The Impact of Neighborhood and Racial Violence on Black Youth Developmental Outcomes.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Dexter Voisin, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Dean of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.<\/p>\n

April 5: WTFentanyl? What We Need to Know About the Current Opioid Crisis.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Ryan Marino, MD<\/strong>, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.<\/p>\n

April 12: Conspiracy Theories and Climate Change Skepticism in Europe.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Andreas Sobisch, Ph.D.<\/strong>, Associate Professor of Political Science, John Carroll University.<\/p>\n

April 19: Why Our Children Struggle in School: Going Beyond the ADHD Metaphor.<\/strong>\u00a0With\u00a0Arthur Lavin MD, FAAP<\/strong>.\u00a0Alternate Room: Kelvin Smith Library LL06<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

April 26: What Does It Mean for Us?<\/strong>\u00a0Local Needs and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. With\u00a0Howard Maier, FAICP<\/strong>, Adjunct Professor of Political Science.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Visit the\u00a0Public Affairs Discussion Group Web Site.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Center for Policy Studies | Mather House 111 | 11201 Euclid Avenue |
\nCleveland, Ohio 44106-7109 |\u00a0Phone: 216.368.6730 |\u00a0padg@case.edu<\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0|
\nPart of the:\u00a0College of Arts and Sciences<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2024 Case Western Reserve University |
\nCleveland, Ohio 44106 | 216.368.2000 |\u00a0legal notice<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Center for Policy Studies
\nPublic Affairs Discussion Group<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bidenomics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Susan Helper, Ph.D. – Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday February 16, 2024
\n12:30-1:30 p.m.
\nMeeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
\nDampeer Room, Second Floor of Kelvin Smith Library<\/strong>*<\/strong>
\nCase Western Reserve University<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Colleagues:<\/p>\n

When I hear \u201cBidenomics\u201d I think of three things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first is \u201cObamacare.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Many people began using each term as a negative label.<\/p>\n

Continue reading… Bidenomics<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1419,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions\/1419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/fridaylunch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}