INTRODUCTION; ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE; THE OUTLOOK; End Notes; Chapter 4 JOB GROWTH DURING THE RECOVERY; SUMMARY; JOB GROWTH OVERALL AND IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR; JOB CHARACTERISTICS; INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS; End Notes; Chapter 5 JOB LOSS AND INFRASTRUCTURE JOB CREATION SPENDING DURING THE RECESSION; SUMMARY; NET JOB LOSS; INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING AND JOB CREATION ESTIMATES; Job Creation Estimates: What Are They?; Some Caveats; The Multiplier Effect; Job Estimates and Construction Spending; Some Caveats; The Multiplier Effect; Job Estimates and Construction Spending.

The slowdown of economic activity was moderate through the first half of 2008, but at that point the weakening economy was overtaken by a major financial crisis that would exacerbate the economic weakness and accelerate the decline. Recent evidence suggests that the process of economic recovery has begun. On the other hand, significant economic weakness remains evident, particularly in the labour and housing markets. This book examines the current issues, options and impacts of the U.S. economic recovery and stimulus measures.

Contents: (1) Background: Severity of the 2008-2009 Recession; Policy Responses to the Financial Crisis and Recession: Monetary Policy Actions; Fiscal Policy Actions; (2) Is Sustained Economic Recovery Underway?; (3) The Shape of Economic Recovery: Demand Side Problems?: Consumption Spending; Investment Spending; Net Exports; Supply Side Problems?; Policy Responses to Increase the Pace of Economic Recovery: The Case for More Fiscal Stimulus; The Case Against More Fiscal Stimulus; The Case Against More Monetary Stimulus; Economic Projections. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

We estimate the impact of fiscal stimulus measures enacted in response to COVID-19 on U.S. GDP, investment and exports. We apply a dynamic computable general equilibrium model adept at estimating total direct and indirect effects and their time-path. Initial stimulus bills, including the CARES Act, reduced the potential decline in GDP resulting from the pandemic by 7.1 percentage points in early 2020. Later rounds were not as beneficial, largely due to crowding out of investment. Unemployment benefits provided a larger increase in GDP than direct and indirect payments to individuals, and corporate tax relief had a positive impact on growth.

This book examines the reasons for the unprecedented weak recovery following the recent US recession and explores the possibility that government economic policy is the problem. Drawing on empirical research that looks at issues from policy uncertainty to increased regulation, the volume offers a broad-based assessment of how government policies are slowing economic growth and provides a framework for understanding how those policies should change to restore prosperity in America.

The 2012 presidential campaign will, above all else, be a referendum on the Obama administration's handling of the financial crisis, recalling the period when Obama's "audacity of hope" met the austerity of reality. Central to this is the ''American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009'' -- the largest economic recovery plan in American history. Senator Mitch McConnell gave a taste of the enormity of the money committed: if you had spent 1 million a day since Jesus was born, it still would not add up to the price tag of the stimulus package. A nearly entirely partisan piece of legislation -- Democrats voted for it, Republicans against -- the story of how the bill was passed and, more importantly, how the money was spent and to what effect, is known barely at all. Stepping outside the political fray, ProPublica's Michael Grabell offers a perceptive, balanced, and dramatic story of what happened to the tax payers' money, pursuing the big question through behind-the-scenes interviews and on-the-ground reporting in more than a dozen states across the country.