Bidenomics Was More Successful Than People Think
Conventional wisdom holds that Joe Biden’s bet on climate investment was a bust. The data suggest otherwise.
TL;DR
- The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aimed to boost votes by creating clean energy jobs and factories.
- Early studies suggested the IRA had little political impact, but these were limited by their methodology.
- New research indicates that clean energy manufacturing investments boosted Harris's vote share by approximately 1.5 percentage points in affected districts.
- Key components of the IRA, particularly manufacturing tax credits, survived repeal attempts and continue to drive clean energy growth.
- The IRA's success is attributed to making clean energy cheaper and implementing benefits quickly, which voters could see before the election.
- While not solely responsible for preventing a Democratic loss, the IRA's investments likely kept the election closer.
- Despite partial repeal and ongoing challenges, the IRA has demonstrated more resilience than other climate policies like carbon pricing.