Economists on Election Issues

Surveying economists on important topics in the current election.

What do economists think about issues that are prominent in the debate surrounding the current U.S. presidential election? The Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets at the University of Chicago has answers:

The Clark Center for Global Markets explores economists’ views on vital policy issues via our US and European Economic Experts Panels. We regularly poll over 80 economists on a range of timely and relevant topics. Panelists not only have the opportunity to respond to a poll’s statements, but an opportunity to comment and provide additional resources, if they wish. The Clark Center then shares the results with the public in a straightforward and concise format.

Below, some questions published on September 10, 2024. I have reformatted the data for clarity. The original page is here.

Question A: Giving the President more direct influence over monetary policy would lead to substantially worse monetary policy decisions. 94 percent of economists agree. Donald Trump argues that he, as president, should exercise this type of control.

Question B: Imposing tariffs results in a substantial portion of the tariffs being borne by consumers of the country that enacts the tariffs, through price increases. 95 percent of economists agree. Donald Trump says that tariffs are a tax on foreign countries, not American consumers, and promises to raise tariffs to generate funding.

Question C: There is little empirical evidence that price gouging is causing high grocery prices. 77 percent of economists agree. The Harris campaign proposes controls to prevent price gouging.

Question D: Widespread use of price controls creates substantial economic distortions. 88 percent of economists agree. The Harris campaign proposes some price controls.