page_title: Economic policy of the Bill Clinton administration
section_title: Economic results summary
hierarchical_section_title: Economic policy of the Bill Clinton administration / Economic results summary
caption_attribution_description: English: Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2015. United States.
context_page_description: The economic policies of Bill Clinton, referred to by some as Clintonomics, encapsulates the economic policies of United States President Bill Clinton that were implemented during his presidency, which lasted from January 1993 to January 2001.
  President Clinton oversaw a very robust economy during his tenure. The U.S. had strong economic growth and record job creation. He raised taxes on higher income taxpayers early in his first term and cut defense spending and welfare, which contributed to a rise in revenue and decline in spending relative to the size of the economy. These factors helped bring the United States federal budget into surplus from the fiscal year 1998 to 2001, the only surplus years after 1969. Debt held by the public, a primary measure of the national debt, fell relative to GDP throughout his two terms, from 47.8% in 1993 to 31.4% in 2001.
  Clinton signed North American Free Trade Agreement into law, along with many other free trade agreements. He also enacted significant welfare reform. His deregulation of finance has been criticized as a contributing factor to the Great Recession.
caption: The poverty rate declined from 15.1% in 1993 to 11.9% in 1999. The number in poverty fell from 39.2 million in 1993 to 32.8 million in 1999, a decline of 6.4 million.
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