How much credit — or blame — should the president get for the economy?

Bidenomics. That wonky word is not going to win any marketing awards, but it is what President Joe Biden has dubbed his package of economic policies and is at the heart of his reelection bid.

This is a risky political gambit. A majority of Americans don’t approve of Biden’s handling of the economy. The sentiment is understandable given the unbearably high inflation. But Biden is betting that inflation will slow, and unemployment will remain low. Bidenomics will get at least some of the credit, and he will be reelected.

Has Bidenomics been successful? Should the president get recognition? The short answer is yes — with a big caveat. But whether Bidenomics will be enough to earn him a second term is a question well beyond my pay grade.

Bidenomics began with the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the massive pandemic emergency aid package passed in the early days of Biden’s term. The ARP included checks to low- and middle-income Americans; more unemployment, rental, and food assistance for hard-pressed households; financial support for small businesses; and funds to help state and local governments with their bills.

The ARP was intended to jump-start the economy and reduce unemployment, which had surged in the pandemic shutdowns. It was a success. The jobs lost during the shutdown were quickly recovered, much more quickly than anywhere else in the world.

The most serious charge against the ARP is that it caused the painfully high inflation. The ARP money did keep Americans spending, allowing businesses to reverse the price cuts they had made as the pandemic raged. At the time, however, some higher inflation was a feature, not a bug. Inflation had been way too low for too long, and the Federal Reserve had been struggling to increase it.

But the high inflation we are grappling with now has nothing to do with the ARP. It is mostly due to the disruptions to global supply chains and the job market caused by the pandemic and the fallout of the Russian war in Ukraine on prices for oil, food, and other commodities. Inflation is higher almost everywhere across the globe. That cannot be pinned on the ARP.

The least controversial part of Bidenomics is the increase in investment in the nation’s public infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act roughly doubles the funds that will be invested over the decade on everything from roads and bridges to the electric grid and broadband. Lawmakers agreed to it on a bipartisan basis, and even many of the senators and representatives who voted against it are now embracing it as projects get underway in their states and districts.

Our infrastructure clearly is in woeful shape and undermining business competitiveness and productivity. Yet consider how fast I-95 was repaired in Northeast Philadelphia after the tanker truck fire that threatened to shut down the major highway for months. That would not have happened nearly as fast without the federal government picking up the tab.

Bidenomics also includes the CHIPS Act, which provides tax and other incentives to expand U.S. semiconductor production. The need was exposed during the pandemic, when global chip manufacturers shut down, stopping production on anything that uses computer chips — which is just about everything. The poster child was the automotive industry; its global production still isn’t back to full strength.

Mounting tensions with China, particularly over the political status of Taiwan, reinforce the need for the CHIPS Act. The island is home to the world’s largest chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which produces the bulk of the world’s chips. What would happen if China disrupted its ability to ship chips to the rest of the globe? This is a serious national security threat.

The most politically charged part of Bidenomics is the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed only with Democratic votes. The IRA has lots of moving parts, but most significantly it addresses climate change by providing lucrative tax incentives to energy producers and consumers to go green. It is a large first step to reducing carbon emissions. The IRA is not about reducing inflation, but given this summer’s global heat waves and other damaging weather events, it’s tough to argue that the government shouldn’t act.

While there is a lot to like about Bidenomics, it is costly. The ARP alone added almost $2 trillion to the nation’s debt load, and the other parts will add nearly another $1 trillion in the coming decade. This largesse cannot continue without eventually causing interest rates to soar and undermining the economy, further exacerbating our daunting fiscal problems.

It’s unclear if voters in the coming election will judge Bidenomics a success, but history will judge it one only if it ultimately sets the nation on a sustainable financial path.

Mark Zandi is chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.