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An Economic Ranking of the US Presidents, 1789–2009: A Data-Based Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2012

Mark Zachary Taylor
Mark Zachary Taylor*
Affiliation:
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Abstract

How relatively good or bad were the economic performances of our past presidents? The answers to this question remain unclear. Most evaluations of presidential performance cloud the issue with partisan bias and subjective judgments or mix economics together with other policy areas. To address these shortcomings, this article uses new data from the Measuring Worth Project to calculate the relative economic rankings of the United States presidents who served from 1789 until 2009. It analyzes up to 220 years of data on economic growth, unemployment, inflation, government debt, balance of payments, income inequality, currency strength, interest rates, and stock market returns to estimate an economic grade point average for each president. Then, these estimates are used to test for correlations with other variables to generate hypotheses regarding the conditions for superior and inferior economic performance.

Type
Spotlight
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , October 2012 , pp. 596 - 604
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2012 

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