Macro Musings

Jim Bianco is the president of Bianco Research, a provider of data-driven insights into the global economy and financial markets, and is also a columnist for Bloomberg. Jim has 30-plus years of experience on Wall Street, and he joins the show today to talk about Fed policy, negative interest rates, and inflation. David and Jim also discuss the possibility of extending the yield curve, the Fed’s recent forays into the repo market, and what low interest rates mean for the economy moving forward.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12092019/jim-bianco-negative-interest-rates-low-inflation-and-yield-curve-expansion   Jim’s Twitter: @biancoresearch Jim’s Bloomberg profile: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/ABvwE0aTOvg/jim-bianco   Related Links:   *A History of Interest Rates* by Dick Sylla and Sidney Homer https://www.wiley.com/en-us/A+History+of+Interest+Rates%2C+4th+Edition-p-9780471732839   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Claudia Sahm is the director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, and was formerly at the Board of Governors as a section chief in the Consumer Community Affairs Division as well as serving on the staff macro forecast. Claudia specializes in macroeconomics and household finance, and she joins the show today to talk about some of her work. David and Claudia also discuss her experience working at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the conception of the Sahm Rule, and the importance of big data for economic research and policymaking.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12022019/claudia-sahm-sahm-rule-and-using-big-data-inform-policymaking   Claudia’s Twitter: @Claudia_Sahm Claudia’s Equitable Growth profile: https://equitablegrowth.org/people/claudia-sahm/   Related Links:   *Recession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American Economy* by the Brookings Institution https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/recession-ready-fisc

Carola Binder is an assistant professor of economics at Haverford College and is an associate editor of the Journal of Money, Credit, and Central Banking. Carola is also a member of the CEPR Research and Policy Network on Central Bank Communication, and joins the show today to discuss her work on central banking and populism. David and Carola also discuss the link between central bank credibility and popularity, the twin deficits of central banking, and why NGDP targeting could be an easy transition point from current inflation targeting regimes.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/11252019/carola-binder-political-pressure-and-twin-deficits-central-banking   Carola’s Twitter: @cconces Carola’s blog: https://carolabinder.blogspot.com/   Related Links:   *Political Pressure on Central Banks* by Carola Binder https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3244148   *Whose Expectations Augment the Phillips Curve?* by Carola Binder https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?ab

Binyamin Appelbaum is the lead writer on business and economics for the editorial board of The New York Times, and he was previously a Washington correspondent for The Times covering the Federal Reserve and other aspects of economic policy. Binyamin is also a returning guest to the show, and joins today to talk about his new book, *The Economists’ Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society*. David and Binyamin also discuss Milton Friedman’s influence on economic thought during the postwar era, the history of the emergence of supply side economics, and the consequences that have arisen from committing too strongly to free market principles.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/11182019/binyamin-appelbaum-economists%E2%80%99-hour-false-prophets-free-markets-and   Binyamin’s Twitter: @BCAppelbaum Binyamin’s New York Times profile: https://www.nytimes.com/by/binyamin-appelbaum   Related Links:   *The Economists’ Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fr

George Selgin is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and is a returning guest to the Macro Musings podcast. Today, George joins the show to talk about recent developments in the payment system. Specifically, George and David discuss the history of attempted payment system solutions, the challenges and costs facing the implementation of a real-time payment system, and why we should care about this issue today.      Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/11112019/george-selgin-past-present-and-future-real-time-payments-system   George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin   Related Links:   *Federal Reserve Announces Plan to Develop a New Round-the-clock Real-time Payment and Settlement Service to Support Faster Payments* - Federal Reserve press release https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20190805a.htm   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.c

Henry Curr is the economics editor for The Economist magazine, and the author of a special report by the magazine on the phenomenon of low inflation now facing the global economy. Henry joins the show today to outline this report and the big questions surrounding low inflation. David and Curr also discuss the persistent low inflation of the present around the globe, why the Phillips Curve has broken down as a policy tool, and how technology may be causing inflation to miss its target set by central banks.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/11042019/henry-curr-inflation-phillips-curve-and-new-monetarism   Henry’s Twitter: @Henry_Curr Henry’s Economist profile: https://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/henry-curr/   Related Links:   *Inflation is Losing its Meaning as an Economic Indicator* A Special Report by Henry Curr (note that this link includes many of the various pieces discussed during the episode) https://www.economist.com/special-report/2019/10/10/inflation-is-l

Diego Zuluaga is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives where he covers financial technology and consumer credit, and before joining Cato, Diego was head of financial services and tech policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. He joins the show today to talk about his work within this policy area. David and Diego also discuss the future of cryptocurrencies, the fragmented nature of the US banking system, and the growing importance of fintech in our daily lives.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/10282019/diego-zuluaga-libra-real-time-payments-and-legacy-community-reinvestment   Diego’s Twitter: @DiegoZuluagaL Diego’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/diego-zuluaga   Related Links:   *New York’s Bank: The National Monetary Commission and the Founding of the Fed* by George Selgin https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/new-yorks-bank-national-monetary-commission-founding-fed   *Fintech

Frances Coppola is a former banker, financial writer, and an author of a recent book titled, *The Case for People’s Quantitative Easing*, and she joins the show today to talk about it.  David and Frances also discuss the overall potential effectiveness of helicopter drops, how they would be deployed during future recessions, and the criticisms and concerns that have been levied against them.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/10212019/frances-coppola-macroeconomics-helicopter-drops   Frances’s Twitter: @Frances_Coppola Frances’s website: http://www.coppolacomment.com/   Related Links:   *The Case for People’s Quantitative Easing* by Frances Coppola https://www.wiley.com/en-me/The+Case+For+People's+Quantitative+Easing-p-9781509531301   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

In this special episode of Macro Musings, the roles are reversed, and David Beckworth joins guest host Cardiff Garcia, host of NPR’s “The Indicator from Planet Money”, to talk about his newest paper, *Facts, Fears, and Functionality of NGDP Level Targeting: A Guide to a Popular Framework for Monetary Policy*. David and Cardiff conduct a deep dive into the plumbing of this potential monetary regime, as they discuss some of the most the important questions surrounding it. Some of these questions include: what is nominal GDP level targeting, and how does it differ from the Fed's current inflation targeting framework? How does NGDP targeting deal with economic downturns and in a more effective manner than inflation targeting? How can this framework be properly communicated and explained to the public? David answers these questions and addresses further concerns and criticisms of NGDP targeting in this unique installment of Macro Musings.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/1018

Srinivas Thiruvadanthai is a managing director and the director of research at the Jerome Levy Forecasting Center. Sri joins the show today to talk about the sectoral financial balance approach to macroeconomics as well as the safe asset supply challenge. David and Sri also discuss the fallacy of composition in macroeconomics, post-Keynesianism and how it differs from mainstream economic thought, and potential solutions to help ease the cost of being the banker to the world.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/10172019/srinivas-thiruvadanthai-sectoral-financial-balance-approach-macroeconomics   Sri’s Twitter: @teasri Sri’s JLFC profile: https://www.levyforecast.com/about-us/srinivas-thiruvadanthai/   Related Links:   *Monetary Economics: An Integrated Approach to Credit, Money, Income, Production and Wealth* by Wynne Godley and Marc Lavoie http://dl4a.org/uploads/pdf/Monetary+Economics+-+Lavoie+Godley.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @Da

Bill Nelson is a chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute and was previously a deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board, where his responsibilities included monetary policy analysis, discount window policy analysis, and financial institution supervision. Bill has written widely on the Fed’s operating system, and he joins the show today to talk about it, as well as the recent turmoil in money markets. David and Bill also discuss the possibility of the Fed moving back to a corridor system, the stigma surrounding banks using the discount window, and the story of recent supply and demand dislocation in repo markets.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/10072019/bill-nelson-repo-market-stress-feds-operating-system-and-prospects-standing   Related Links:   Link to supply and demand curves mentioned in the episode: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-repo-man-cometh.html   *Two Little-Noticed and Self-Inflicted Causes of t

Jim Dorn is the Vice President for Monetary Studies at the Cato Institute and is the director of Cato’s annual Monetary Policy Conference. Jim has written widely on Federal Reserve policy and monetary reform, and has also edited more than 10 books including *The Search for Stable Money* and *The Future of Money in the Information Age*.  He joins the show today to talk about the history of monetary policy in Washington D.C. over the past four decades as well as some of his own recent work. David and Jim also discuss the issues covered at the most recent Cato Institute monetary policy conference, the recent mystery of low inflation, and Jim’s idea of an optimal monetary policy regime.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/10022019/jim-dorn-history-monetary-policy-washington-dc-and-its-future   Jim’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/james-dorn   Related Links:   Registration for the Cato Institute Monetary Policy Conference: https://www.cato.org/events/37th-an

Gregg Gelzinis is a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress where he focuses his work on financial institutions, financial markets, consumer finance policy, and financial regulation more broadly, and he joins the show today to talk about these issues. David and Gregg also discuss the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) inception, the tradeoffs between financial regulation and capital requirements, how the Fed could improve its stress testing.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/09232019/gregg-gelzinis-reforming-fsoc-and-how-limit-future-financial-crises   Gregg’s Twitter: @FinGregg Gregg’s Center for American Progress profile: https://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/gelzinis-gregg/bio/   Related Links:   *Strengthening the Regulation and Oversight of Shadow Banks: Revitalizing the Financial Stability Oversight Council* by Gregg Gelzinis https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2019/07/18/471564/strengthening-regulation-oversight-sh

Soumaya Keynes is the US economics editor for The Economist magazine, and she is also the co-host of *Trade Talks*, a podcast on all things trade, including trade policy, trade wars, and the future of trade. Soumaya joins the show today to talk about the general topic of trade, but also some other recent economic developments. David and Soumaya also discuss dollar dominance, the effects of trade policy on economic uncertainty, and the highlights, and major themes of the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/09162019/soumaya-keynes-trade-dollar-dominance-and-highlights-jackson-hole   Soumaya’s Twitter: @SoumayaKeynes Soumaya’s website: https://soumayakeynes.com/ Soumaya’s Economist profile: https://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/soumaya-keynes/   Related Links:   *Soumaya Keynes Says Trump Trade Tweets Have Unleashed 'Bigger Uncertainty' Beyond Tariffs* https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/soumaya-keynes-say

Alex Tabarrok is a professor of economics at George Mason University and holds the Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center. Alex has written widely on long run economic growth and joins the show today to talk about it. David and Alex also discuss how capital relates to economic growth, the impact of regulation on dynamism, and the important distinction between “catch-up” and “cutting edge” growth.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/09092019/alex-tabarrok-elements-economic-growth-and-decline-dynamism   Alex’s Twitter: @ATabarrok Alex’s Mercatus profile: https://asp.mercatus.org/alexander-tabarrok Alex and Tyler’s blog: https://marginalrevolution.com/   Related Links:   *Modern Principles of Economics* by Alex Tabarrok and Tyler Cowen https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/product/Loose-leaf--Version-for--Modern-Principles-of-Economics-4E--FlipIt-for-Survey-of-Economics-Six-Months-Access-4E-Online/p/131909872X   *Is Regulation to Blame for the Decl

Judge Glock is an economic historian and a scholar at the Cicero Institute in San Francisco. Judge’s research is focused on the Great Depression, and he has recently published a paper on an important idea shaping Federal Reserve policy during this time; the Riefler-Keynes Doctrine.  He joins the show today to talk about this paper and the Great Depression.  David and Judge also discuss the key ideas behind the Riefler-Keynes Doctrine, how it differs from the Real Bills Doctrine, and how this relates to the Fed’s response to the Great Depression.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/09022019/judge-glock-riefler-keynes-doctrine-and-monetary-policy-during-great   Judge’s Twitter: @judgeglock Judge’s AIER profile: https://www.aier.org/staff/judge-glock   Related Links:   *The ‘Riefler-Keynes’ Doctrine and Federal Reserve Policy in the Great Depression* by Judge Glock https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article-abstract/51/2/297/137129/The-Riefler-Keynes-Doctrine-and-Federal-Reserv

Thomas Hoenig was vice-chair of the FDIC from 2012-2018 and in the 20 years prior to that he was also president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Thomas is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University where he focuses on the long-term impact of the politicization of financial services, as well as the effects of government granted privileges and market performance. He joins the show today to talk about his career and some of the current issues in banking. David and Thomas also assess the effectiveness of quantitative easing, the advantages and disadvantages of opening up the Fed’s balance sheet to the public, and the debate between establishing an orderly liquidation authority vs a bankruptcy code.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/08262019/thomas-hoenig-federal-reserve-and-state-banking-us   Thomas’ Twitter: @tom_hoenig Thomas’ Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/people/thomas-hoenig   Related Links:   *"Enormous"

Chris Crowe is head of economic research at Capula Investment Management, a London-based hedge fund, where he covers global economics, primarily the G10 countries plus China. Chris was previously UK economist at Barclays and prior to that he worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He joins the show today to give us the perspective of a macroeconomist from inside a hedge fund on markets, Brexit, and other current events as well as some of his own research. David and Chris also discuss central bank independence, the overall economic impacts of Brexit, and the implications of Jay Powell’s testimony at the Humphrey Hawkins.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/08192019/chris-crowe-hedge-fund-perspectives-and-economic-implications-brexit   Related Links:   *Safe Asset Supply Failing to Meet Demand, Economist Crowe Says* by Frank Fuhrig https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/safe-asset-supply-failing-meet-demand-economist-crowe-says   *The International Impact of the

Aaron Klein is the director of the Center on Markets and Regulations at the Brookings Institution where, among other things, he focuses on financial regulations and real time payments. Aaron has written widely on real time payments and he joins the show today to talk about this issue, as they discuss the definition of real-time payments, how they could have a positive impact on limiting income inequality, and why the Fed is now interested in setting up its own real-time payments system.  David and Aaron also discuss banking reform after the recession, the shadow banking system, and why a lack of bank failures may be a worrying signal.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/08122019/aaron-klein-real-time-payments-and-financial-regulation   Aaron’s Twitter: @Aarondklein Aaron’s Brookings profile: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/aaron-klein/   Related Links:   *Is China’s New Payment System the Future?* by Aaron Klein https://www.brookings.edu/research/is-chinas-new-payment-sy

In this special bonus episode of Macro Musings, David Beckworth joins Employ America and several other monetary policy enthusiasts on the day of the July FOMC meeting to discuss what would be an historic event –  the first interest rate cut executed by the Fed since December 2008, and the market reactions to this event.  In addition to their discussion of this eventual rate cut, David and the other Fed watchers also get a chance to talk about Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Fed Board of Governors, the significance and aftermath of the recent Humphrey Hawkins hearing, how the Fed’s decision to cut parallels the European Central Bank, and more.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/08072019/bonus-episode-watch-party-fed%E2%80%99s-historic-interest-rate-cut   Related Links:   Employ America’s home page: https://employamerica.org/   Sam Bell’s Twitter: @sam_a_bell Skanda Amarnath’s Twitter: @IrvingSwisher Sam & Skanda’s bios: https://employamerica.org/about/   Soumaya Keyne