Grow the Economic Pie, Don’t Reallocate It

Jeffrey Miron

To a first approximation, economic policies target one of two objectives: efficiency (growing the economic pie) or redistribution (reallocating the economic pie). Alas, most politicians favor the latter, which typically shrinks the economic pie and often reallocates in perverse ways. Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are no exceptions. Mostly, their policy positions emphasize redistribution (to groups whose votes they are trying to court) rather than maximizing economic output. We review some of the economic policies that will define the next administration and argue that both candidates must reorient the platforms toward maximizing efficiencies in order to grow the economic pie for all.

Read the rest at ProMarket, which is hosted by the Stigler Center at Chicago Booth.

This article appeared on Substack on October 28, 2024. Constantin Wells assisted in the production of this post.