Could the closest and most bitterly divisive election in modern American history prove to be a boon to the U.S. economy? Absolutely, say members of TIME's Board of Economists, who gathered in Washington to assess the outlook after the murkiest presidential election in a century. With neither George W. Bush nor Al Gore commanding a clear mandate and the U.S. Senate virtually split down the middle, TIME's experts saw little risk of any broad and possibly destabilizing shifts in economic policy next year--regardless of who becomes the 43rd President.
The panelists agreed that gridlock would consign such bold but risky plans...