Presidential Rhetoric and US Economic Performance

• In Event: Presidential Rhetoric and Public Opinion

Abstract

Do presidents matter for US short-run economic performance? Much research dismisses the White House occupants as irrelevant. However, this paper shows that a president’s skill at rhetoric and public imagery has a strong correlation with their economic success. It follows B. Dan Wood’s in-depth statistical analysis which found that post-WWII presidents spoke often about the economy and that their comments had significant economic effects. This paper uses comparative case studies across all US history to maximize the presidents considered, to better substantiate casual mechanisms, and to search for omitted conditional variables.

Author

• Zak Taylor, Georgia Institute of Technology