Inside the US stimulus program: Implications for three industries

This essay introduces a package of articles that examines the US stimulus program broadly and explores its impact on three sectors in particular: health care, energy, and broadband. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 represents the largest government intervention in the US economy since the New Deal, with expenditures totaling 5.4 percent of GDP. While a trickle of spending has already occurred, the flow of funds is just getting underway. As it gathers force, major sectors of the US economy will feel the effects of policy, spending, and regulatory changes embodied in the stimulus and perhaps in a broader set of government interventions that are still under discussion.