There's no debating who would be better for US economy

Something has been missing from the flood of commentary following the debate between US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

- JOSEPH E STIGLITZ

While voters' judgements about a candidate's personality and personal strengths are important, everyone should remember the famous dictum: "It's the economy, stupid." Assessing a President's management of the economy is always a tricky business, because many developments will have been set in motion by one's predecessors. Barack Obama had to deal with a deep recession because previous administrations had pursued financial deregulation and failed to head off the crisis that erupted in the fall of 2008. By the time the economy was finally on the mend, Obama was on his way out, and Mr Trump was on his way in.

Although Mr Trump cannot be blamed for Covid-19, he certainly bears responsibility for an inadequate response that left the United States with a death toll far above that of other advanced economies. While the virus disproportionately claimed the lives of the elderly, it also cut into the workforce, and those losses contributed to the work shortages and inflation that Mr Biden inherited.