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Economic Report of the President 1994 - The American Presidency ...

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TABLE 2-2.— Administration ForecastsItem 1993 <strong>1994</strong> 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999Percent change, fourth quarter to fourth quarterReal GDPGDP implicit deflator .Consumer price index(CPI-U)2.82.22.73.02.73.02.72.83.22.72.93.32.63.03.42.63.03.42.53.03.4Calendar year averageUnemployment rate(percent)Old basisNew basisInterest rate, 91-dayTreasury bills(percent)Interest rate, 10-yearTreasury note(percent)Nonfarm payroll employment(millions)6.83.05.9110.26.3(6.6-7.2)3.45.7112.35.9(6.2-6.8)3.85.7114.35.7(6.0-6.6)4.15.7116.25.6(5.9-6.5)4.45.7118.25.5(5.8-6.4)Sources: Council <strong>of</strong> <strong>Economic</strong> Advisers, Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Treasury, and Office <strong>of</strong> Management and Budget.4.45.7120.05.5(5.8-6.4)from accelerating. Health care reform should help rein in <strong>the</strong> spiralingcosts that have plagued that huge sector <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> economy andthus help control overall inflation.<strong>The</strong> Administration's forecast is in line with private sector forecastsfor <strong>1994</strong> and <strong>the</strong> mid-1990s. It assumes no dramatic shift inaggregate economic performance beyond <strong>the</strong> trends clearly establishedover 1993—low inflation, low long-term interest rates, andhealthy investment spending. It also assumes that <strong>the</strong> historical(Okun's law) relationship between output and unemployment continuesto hold.RISKS TO THE FORECASTAs always, <strong>the</strong>re are risks to this forecast. First, foreign economicactivity may not pick up as expected, especially if o<strong>the</strong>r governmentsremain reluctant to stimulate <strong>the</strong>ir economies by easing interestrates or pursuing countercyclical fiscal policies. It is also possiblethat <strong>the</strong> kind <strong>of</strong> industrial restructuring that <strong>the</strong> UnitedStates has endured over <strong>the</strong> past decade may prove to be a biggerhurdle than realized for key European trading partners and Japan.Also, <strong>the</strong> timetable for <strong>the</strong> correction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Japanese speculativebubble <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> late 1980s is unclear and could take longer than expected.<strong>The</strong> better <strong>the</strong> Group <strong>of</strong> Seven countries coordinate <strong>the</strong>irmacroeconomic policies over <strong>the</strong> next couple <strong>of</strong> years, <strong>the</strong> lower <strong>the</strong>risk <strong>of</strong> a prolonged pause in industrial-country growth.4.45.7121.992

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