Content area
Full Text
Jimmy Carter's Economy: Policy in an Age of Limits. By W. Carl Biven. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. 346 pp.
It was once commonplace to refer to Jimmy Carter's presidency as "failed" or a "tragedy." Such depictions, however, ignore the many accomplishments of the Carter administration-the Panama Canal treaties, the Egyptian-Israeli peace accords, energy legislation, economic deregulation, civil service reform, administrative reorganization, support for civil and human rights. Two notable entries on the negative side of the ledger are the Iranian hostage crisis and national economic policy. The latter, which is the topic of Carl Biven's fine book, was probably the "decisive reason" Carter was defeated for reelection in 1980 (p. 3).
Presidents are expected to manage the economy to keep it "healthy"-that is, characterized by high employment, low inflation, and a good rate of economic growth. This is no easy task. The available tools may include fiscal policy, monetary policy, and wage and price control policies, either mandatory or voluntary. The president has only limited authority here, however. Control of fiscal policy is shared with Congress, and monetary policy is the domain of the independent Federal Reserve Board. Mandatory wage and price controls (now out of style) require legislative authorization. Voluntary controls can be put...