From micro to macro: Public policies and aggregate economic performance

This paper provides an overview of the link between policy and economic gro wth. It stresses that while growth, as measured and discussed, is a macroec onomic phenomenon, the best available evidence of policy effectiveness is t ypically from studies using micro data. It also reiterates the message that divergence between private and social returns is a key part of the evidenc e needed to discuss what kinds of policy intervention are desirable.