The Economy

US History – The Presidency of Ronald Reagan, 1981-89

In this course, Professor Iwan Morgan (University College, London) explores the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981-89). In the first module, we think about Reagan's handling of the economy, focusing in particular on the shift away from the economic orthodoxy of the past fifty years to adopt supply-side economics and monetarism. After that, we think about Reagan's attempts to reduce government spending, before turning in the third module to consider his impact on American culture and society. In the fourth module, we think about the broad political changes that took place during Reagan's administration, before turning in the fifth and final module to consider the extent to which Reagan restored the prestige of an office that had been diminished by Vietnam, Watergate, and the underwhelming administrations of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

The Economy

In this module, we think about Reagan's handling of the economy, focusing in particular on: (i) the problems faced by the economy at the beginning of the decade, including high inflation and low productivity; (ii) Reagan's move from Keynesian economic policy to supply-side economics; (iii) the influence of the Federal Reserve on economic performance; (iv) the short- and medium-term impact of the Reagan's economic policy; (v) the impact of Reagan's policy on the US budget deficit, and the impact of the budget deficit on other economic measures, e.g. unemployment; (vi) Reagan's deregulation of the economy, and the short- and medium- term impact of these changes; (vii) the impact of the deindustrialisation and financialization of the economy, on the value of the dollar, the trade deficit, and unemployment; and (viii) Reagan's economic legacy in conservative memory/mythology.