Richard J. Carroll, Columnist

How Obama's Economic Record Stacks Up

His performance is respectable. It should be built on, not cast aside.

September 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM UTC

Richard J. Carroll is an economist for international financial institutions including the World Bank. He is the author of "The President as Economist: Scoring Economic Performance From Harry Truman to Obama."

Put them in order.
Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

President Barack Obama might be a savior of the economy or have one of the worst records ever, depending on your viewpoint. But when you put all the aspects of his economic performance together, how does his record really stack up compared with the jobs done by other presidents since World War II?

It’s an important question for the 2016 election because we need to know where Obama’s policies can be associated with success, if at all, and where the economic course needs to be changed.