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

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 fallout from 9/11 and the wars that followed* China’s WTO entry, globalization, and the decline of manufacturing employment* How interest rates, household debt, and easy borrowing set the stage for what came nextIf you liked this conversation, you might also enjoyThis Week’s Drinks 🍻Jadrian finally got the chance to bring out his Pabst Blue Ribbon mixed with Grillo’s pickle juice, timed nicely with the approach of Picklesburgh. Matt went with a Summer Shred Hazy IPA from Ever Grain Brewing Company, which has no connection to the 2000s but was apparently overdue for an appearance. Brian leaned into the decade with a mojito, inspired by the super-sweet, fruit-heavy cocktails that were everywhere in the 2000s. Name That Stat 📊This week's numbers covered several different corners of the 2000s economy. We looked at the explosive growth of the World Series of Poker's Main Event, the dramatic collapse of the NASDAQ after the dot-com bubble burst, and the millions of manufacturing jobs lost during the decade. Along the way, we also explored how unemployment, federal debt, and financial markets changed over one of the most turbulent economic periods in recent history.Show NotesWe have a packed episode, but thankfully we have Brian O’Roark back to help us make sense of the 2000s. It was a decade packed with an incredible amount of economic history, but we start by asking what the decade inherited from the 1990s. The answer was a lot of economic optimism, despite initial fears of bank failures, grounded airplanes, and collapsing computer systems thanks to the Y2K scare.Unemployment was at levels that once seemed unusually low, the federal government had recently run budget surpluses, globalization was accelerating, and the stock market had spent years climbing. Europe was moving toward physical euro notes, China was approaching entry into the World Trade Organization, and economists had plenty of reasons to believe freer trade and deeper international connections would create broad gains. That optimism did not last long. The dot-com bubble burst, and the ensuing Nasdaq crash forced some people to remain in the workforce much longer than expected. The broader stock market offered very little progress for anyone who invested in the beginning and was hoping to cash out at the end. This is part of the reason the decade is sometimes described as a lost decade for investors and households. Even though 9/11 was