Toro
Diamond Member
Figure 1 below shows growth rates in real GDP per capita for every administration beginning in 1929, the first year for which the BEA provides data:
(Note FDR I was through 1940, FDR II was most of the War years. We broke up the sample that way because there are a lot of people who either out of ignorance or some odd desire to spread BS insist that under FDR, the Great Depression got worse or that growth only picked up with the start of WW2. Either way, Ive found it is safe to use a persons pronouncements about FDR as a signal about the accuracy of other things they choose to share. Also note the remaining graphs in this post focus on the period from 1952 2008, as that was the main focus of the book from whence they come.)
As the graph shows, when it comes to real economic growth, Reagan did better than other Republicans. But growth under Reagan was also slower than it was under most of the Democrats since 1929. While the growth rate under Reagan is far less impressive when that last detail is mentioned, it is less impressive still if you remember the definition of GDP:
A Few Graphs Describing the Reagan Presidency