Bidenomics Explained

“Bidenomics” is the nickname for the economic vision of former President Joe Biden. It’s used to convey his administration's economic gains, policies and plans.

What is Bidenomics?

Bidenomics was essential to Biden’s messaging about the strength of the economy under his administration.

Bidenomics is a wordplay on Reaganomics, the nickname for the Reagan administration’s economic policies, which emphasized four pillars: tax cuts, deregulation, domestic spending cuts and inflation reduction.

Bidenomics, according to his administration, is a rejection of the trickle-down economic policies that defined Reaganomics.

The three pillars of his economic agenda are:

One of Biden’s most impactful actions during the early part of his presidency was the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package in response to the pandemic. It provided emergency grants, lending and investment to small businesses; $1,400 one-time per-person stimulus checks; temporarily increased the Child Tax Credit; temporarily extended unemployment benefits; and lowered health insurance premiums.

What defined the economy during Biden's administration

When Biden first took office, the economy was defined by opposing forces, namely sky-high inflation and a relentlessly robust labor market. While price increases are slowing, costs remain elevated for the things consumers tend to care most about, especially staples like groceries and gas. The Federal Reserve’s attempts to tame inflation by hiking interest rates has led to the highest mortgage rates in 23 years — making homeownership more unattainable for everyday Americans.

Despite boasting some of the lowest unemployment figures in more than 50 years and steadily stabilizing price growth, the Biden administration struggled against negative perceptions of the economy and the ever-present threat of a recession on the horizon. That was largely due to sky-high inflation that eventually slowed, largely due to the Federal Reserve's actions to raise interest rates. But the Fed's actions also led to some of the highest mortgage rates in 23 years — making homeownership more unattainable for everyday Americans. While price increases slowed, costs remain elevated for the things consumers tend to care most about, especially staples like groceries and gas.

Prior to Biden's departure from the election, some experts project that Biden’s approach to handling the economy would have been better than Trump's. On June 25, 2024, a letter signed by 16 Nobel Prize winning economists touted the economic investments that Biden made during his presidency — “including in infrastructure, domestic manufacturing and climate” — along with the labor market recovery supported by Biden’s stimulus. “These investments are likely to increase productivity and economic growth while lowering long-term inflationary pressures and facilitating the clean energy transition,” they wrote.