The economy in the Reagan years : the economic consequences of the Reagan administrations /

Campagna (Univ. of Vermont) evaluates President Reagan's economic policies. After surveying economic events of the 1970s, he summarizes the components of Reagan's economic agenda, the plan's results, and its legacy. There are separate chapters on ideology, fiscal policy, monetary policy and inflation, regulation, macroeconomic trends (growth, savings, investment, employment), banking, trade, economic structure (especially mergers and takeovers), and income distribution. Campagna concludes that Reagan "got most of what he sought," but that his economic program was "basically a failure," because the supply-side theory was poorly grounded, containing too many inconsistencies. The author acknowledges that he was against Reagan's plans "right from the beginning," and in his book summarizes the liberal indictment of Reaganomics. Unfortunately, he frequently overstates the case. Although the book contains 25 tables and numerous statistics, this reviewer questions using official price indexes in measuring growth and real wage trends which are at the core of the analysis. In places documentation from more diverse, balanced sources is needed. All levels. R. M. Whaples; Wake Forest University