The Economy by Decade: The 2000s (Part 1)

Economics Happy Hour Podcast · Jul 16, 2026 · 1h 2m

The 2000s began with a strong economy, low unemployment, growing globalization, and plenty of optimism left over from the 1990s. Then came the dot-com crash, 9/11, China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, major manufacturing job losses, and a sharp increase in federal debt. We look at how those events reshaped markets, jobs, government spending, and household finances. We decided to stop just before the Great Recession, which is big enough to get an episode of its own.

In this episode, we talk about:

* What the 2000s inherited from the booming economy of the late 1990s

* The economic…