The economic theory that could also have been called “Reaganomics” is supply-side economics.

What “Reaganomics” Refers To

  • Reaganomics is the nickname for the economic program of U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, centered on tax cuts, deregulation, and reduced growth of government spending to stimulate investment and production.
  • These policies were explicitly grounded in supply-side ideas: focus on boosting the supply of goods and services by improving incentives for businesses and high earners.

Why Supply-Side Fits the Name

  • Supply-side economics argues that cutting marginal tax rates and easing regulation will increase work, saving, and investment, thereby raising output and overall growth.
  • Reagan’s agenda—large income tax cuts, business tax incentives, and deregulation—was widely described as both “Reaganomics” and supply-side economics , and is often linked to “trickle-down” theories as well.

Related Labels You Might Hear

  • Commentators sometimes describe Reaganomics as “trickle-down economics” , emphasizing the idea that benefits at the top eventually reach lower-income groups.
  • Critics also used phrases like “voodoo economics” , but in terms of formal theory, the correct match for a question asking “which economic theory could also have been called ‘Reaganomics’?” is supply-side economics.

Answer for a multiple-choice style question:
→ Supply-side economics (often just “supply-side”).