23 Nobel Prize-winning economists call Harris’ economic plan ‘vastly superior’ to Trump’s

() – More than half of the living Americans who received the Nobel Prize in Economics signed a letter calling the Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic agenda “far superior” to the plans established by former President Donald Trump.

23 Nobel Prize-winning economists signed the letter, including two of the three most recent recipients.

“While each of us has different views on the details of various economic policies, we believe that, overall, Harris’ economic agenda will improve health, investment, sustainability, resilience, employment opportunities and equity of our nation and will be far superior to Donald Trump’s counterproductive economic agenda,” the economists write in the letter obtained by .

The letter serves as a seal of approval for Harris less than two weeks before Election Day on the issue that voters consistently rank as the most important in polls: the economy. Voters’ issues with inflation and a bleak overall view of the state of the U.S. economy have long served as a clear vulnerability for the Democratic nominee in the race, with incumbent President Joe Biden struggling for months to highlight policy economic crisis of his administration before stepping aside and Harris rallied the party’s support to become the party’s nominee.

The letter was spearheaded by Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor and 2001 winner of the prize, and marks the second major foray into the campaign by a group of Nobel laureates.

Stiglitz also spearheaded an initiative in June, along with 15 other Nobel winnersto highlight what the signatories said would be a “destabilizing effect” of a second Trump term on the US economy. The group said at the time that then-candidate Biden’s economic agenda was also “enormously superior.”

At the time, Trump dismissed the group’s letter and his campaign criticized those who signed it, calling them “useless and out of touch with reality” economists.

But the new letter, which began to take shape after Harris detailed her economic vision late last month, includes seven new signatories and represents a broad spectrum in the field in terms of areas of expertise and approach to economics.

The expanded group includes two of the three most recent honorees: Simon Johnson and Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who received the award last weekalong with James Robinson of the University of Chicago, for their research on how institutions determine which countries become rich and prosperous.

The letter is intentionally brief, just 228 words, reflecting both an effort to build consensus across a broader spectrum of economists and a desire to elevate that consensus with precision, according to a person familiar with the process. The letter was drafted to incorporate feedback from the initial effort.

It also marked an effort in the final days of the campaign to elevate what those involved saw as an acute risk posed by Trump both in his economic proposals but also, in their view, the potential instability it would pose in an area where certainty and stability are paramount.

The letter notes that Trump’s tariff and tax policies are inflationary and will likely increase the federal deficit, a view widely shared among economists, but it also issues a stark warning.

“Among the most important determinants of economic success are the rule of law and economic and political certainty, and Trump threatens all of them,” the economists write.

Despite warnings and forecasts from economists across the political spectrum, Trump remained steadfast in his promise to use threats of sweeping tariffs as a cornerstone of his economic agenda.

Trump, in a recent interview with Bloomberg at the Economic Club of Chicago, said his tariff plans “would have a massive effect, a positive effect.”

“The most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff,” Trump said. “It’s my favorite word.”

Trump promised sweeping tax cuts beyond his 2017 tax law and vowed to abolish taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits, which analysts said would cost trillions of dollars, all while pointing to tariffs and economic growth as the way to pay for lost income.

Economists believe that tariffs are actually a tax on consumers who buy imported goods.

He promised large-scale deregulation and, as part of that effort, a surge in oil and gas drilling. He also promised to deport all illegal immigrants in the United States in the “largest deportation operation” in the country’s history.

Trump has long had an advantage when it comes to which candidate voters believe would best handle the economy, as voters grapple with widespread discontent about the state and direction of the U.S. economy.

Trump and his allies sought to leverage that advantage at campaign events and in their advertising, with a specific focus on the high prices that have burdened American consumers for much of the last few years.

But Harris has progressively narrowed Trump’s lead on the issue in recent weeks, according to polls, and Harris campaign advisers see an opportunity to chip away at Trump’s strength on the issue in the final days of the campaign.

These efforts have been bolstered by a steady stream of economic data that has boosted confidence among U.S. policymakers that they have managed to rein in inflation without pushing the broader economy into a recession.

The Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates. Employment data for September showed a rebound in hiring, a declining unemployment rate and strong wage growth.

Retail sales also remain durable.

The economic outlook, at least based on macroeconomic data, appears solid.

Harris, as part of her economic agenda, has taken steps to address voter concerns about prices, the cost of housing, the cost of child and elder care, and has pushed for tax cuts targeting lower-income Americans. medium and low.

He also expressed support for industrial policies pushed by Biden, designed to boost American manufacturing in critical industries.

The contrast between the two candidates on the economy is central to the messages that both campaigns are promoting in the final days of the race.

For the letter’s signatories, Harris’ message is the clear preference.

“Simply put, Harris’ policies will result in stronger economic performance, with more robust, more sustainable, and more equitable economic growth,” the economists write.