It turns out the world’s biggest economy did a lot of things right after the Great Recession that set it apart from other major nations. In the view of many economists, those key decisions, particularly by the Federal Reserve, appear to be paying off now.

An improving economy led the Fed on Wednesday to end its stimulative bond buying program. Launched during the 2008 financial crisis, it was an unprecedented and aggressive effort to revive a dormant economy by buying trillions in bonds to reduce long-term interest rates.

Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, credited the Fed and its bond purchases with helping pull the country out of the worst downturn since the 1930s.

“Its greatest impact was instilling confidence in consumers and the business community that Fed officials were determined to do everything they could to stimulate growth,” Handler said. “To know you have the Fed pulling for you instills confidence.”

Thursday’s government report on the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — added to evidence that the Fed’s efforts have translated into robust job growth and a recovery that appears to be solidifying.

The third-quarter expansion was propelled by solid gains in business investment, exports and the biggest jump in military spending in five years. It followed a 4.6 per cent annualized expansion in the second quarter, which marked a dramatic turnaround from the first three months of the year, when a harsh winter depressed activity.

Many economists say they’re confident that the current October-December quarter will be another solid one. They also project that full-year growth for 2015 will hit 3 per cent, giving the economy the best annual performance since 2005, two years before the Great Recession began.

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