Macro Musings

James Broughel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University Law School. James specializes in state and federal regulatory procedures, cost-benefit analysis, and economic growth. He joins the show today to talk about a recent symposium he hosted on the social discount rate; what it is, its uses, and the controversy surrounding how to measure it. David and James also discuss cost-benefit analysis in the regulatory world and why the social discount rate matters for policy.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/03182019/discounting-future   James’ Twitter: @JamesBroughel James’ Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/james-broughel   Related Links:   *The Social Rate of Time Preference and the Social Discount Rate* by Mark Moore and Adam Vining https://www.mercatus.org/system/files/moore_and_vining_-_mercatus_research_-_a_social_rate_of_time_preference_approach_to_social_discount_rate_-_v1.pdf   *The Appropriate

Ryan Avent is an economics columnist with The Economist magazine and is a previous guest of Macro Musings. He joins the show today to talk about some of his recent columns including work on hyperinflation, the Green New Deal, and Fed policy. David and Ryan also discuss the growing popularity of Modern Monetary Theory, the Fed’s dovish change in direction, and why hyperinflation is so devastating to a nation’s economy.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/03112019/hyperinflation-and-mmt   Ryan’s Twitter: @ryanavent Ryan’s Economist profile: http://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/ryan-avent/   Related Links:   *Hyperinflations Can End Quickly, Given the Right Sort of Regime Change* by Ryan Avent https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/01/31/hyperinflations-can-end-quickly-given-the-right-sort-of-regime-change   *Taking the Fed at its Word: Direct Estimation of Central Bank Objectives using Text Analytics* by Adam Shapiro & Daniel Wilson https://www.frbsf.o

Michael Strain is the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Previously, Michael worked in the Center for Economic Studies at the U.S. Census Bureau and in the Macroeconomics Research Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He joins the show today to talk about recent developments in U.S. economic policy and some of his work on that topic. David and Michael also discuss the consequences of rising populism, MMT’s impact on tax policy, and the issues Americans should be most worried about.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/03042019/populism-mmt-and-billionaires   Michael’s Twitter: @MichaelRStrain Michael’s AEI profile: https://www.aei.org/scholar/michael-r-strain/   Related Links:   *Economic Shocks and Clinging* by Michael Strain and Stan Veuger https://ideas.repec.org/p/aei/rpaper/1004842.html   *Wealth Inequality in the United States Since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data* by Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman https:

George Selgin is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia, and a returning guest to show.  For this special live episode, George joins Macro Musings to talk about his new book, *Floored: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession.* David and George also discuss the liquidity coverage ratio, the Fed’s transition from a corridor to a floor system, and the arguments for and against such an operating system.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02252019/floors-and-corridors   George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin   Related Links:   *The Fed Marches On* by George Selgin https://www.alt-m.org/2019/01/31/the-fed-marches-on/   *Balance Sheet News* blog post by Stephen Williamson http://newmonetarism.blogspot.com/2019/02/balance-sheet-news_21.html   David Beckworth’s Twitter thread

Peter Stella is the managing director of Stellar Consulting and was formerly an IMF official where he led the central banking and monetary and foreign exchange divisions. Peter has researched and written extensively on safe assets, collateral, and central banking operations, and he joins the show today to discuss this work.  David and Peter also discuss the Fed’s large scale asset purchases, money and payment systems in advanced economies, and why the U.S. Treasury should start issuing bills to the Fed.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02182019/peter-stella-debt-safe-assets-and-central-bank-operations   Peter’s Voxeu profile: https://voxeu.org/users/peterstella0 Peter’s Research Gate archive: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Stella   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Rohan Grey is a legal scholar and the research director of the Digital Fiat Currency Institute. He joins the show today to make the case for digital legal tender. David and Rohan also discuss privacy issues related to digital currency, getting the public onboard with a digital currency proposal, modern monetary theory, and how it is different than mainstream economics.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02112019/future-digital-fiat-currency    Rohan’s Twitter: @rohangrey Rohan’s Cornell profile: https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/degrees/graduate-legal-studies/JSD-Student-Profiles-Rohan-Grey.cfm   Related Links:   *Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Monetary Policy* by Michael Bordo and Andrew Levin https://www.nber.org/papers/w23711   *Winds of Change: The Case for New Digital Currency* by Christine Lagarde https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/11/13/sp111418-winds-of-change-the-case-for-new-digital-currency   *The Case for Digital Legal Tender

Donald Kohn is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and currently serves as an external member of the Financial Policy Committee at the Bank of England. Donald is also a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System, serving previously as a governor and then as vice-chair of the Board of Governors from 2002 to 2010. He joins the show today to talk about his journey through the Federal Reserve System in addition to some of his recent work. David and Donald also discuss Fed policy during the ‘80s, expanding the types of assets the Fed could purchase, and the challenges it faces today.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02012019/burns-powell   Donald’s Brookings profile: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/donald-kohn/ Donald’s Federal Reserve History biography: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/people/donald_l_kohn   Related Links:   *The Anguish of Central Banking* by Arthur Burns http://www.perjacobsson.org/lectures/1979.pdf   *Secrets of the Temple: How the Feder

Kevin Erdmann is an independent researcher and blogger at Idiosyncratic Whisk, where he explores economic and financial topics such as housing, investment, and speculation. He is also the author of an upcoming book titled, *Shut Out: How a Housing Shortage Caused the Great Recession and Crippled Our Economy*, and he joins the show today to discuss it. David and Kevin also break down the housing shortage problem, as they explore how the limited supply of housing in close access cities may have helped fuel the Great Recession.   NOTE: Although stated in the episode, Kevin's book was renamed to Shut Out. Locked Out was simply the working title at the time of the recording.   Link to the book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538122150/Shut-Out-How-a-Housing-Shortage-Caused-the-Great-Recession-and-Crippled-Our-Economy Discount code: 4S18MERC30   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01282019/were-we-all-wrong-about-great-recession   Kevin’s Twitter: @KAErdmann Kevin’s blog: http://idiosy

Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and was previously the deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department and senior trade economist in the White House. Christine is a returning guest to Macro Musings and joins the show today to talk about recent trade developments. David and Christine also discuss the details of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, how Brexit affects trade issues in Europe, and the possibility of blowback from Trump’s trade policies.   Transcript for episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01212019/china-usmca-uk-and-more   Christine’s Twitter: @christinemcdan Christine’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/christine-mcdaniel   Related Links:   “Tariff man”: https://imgur.com/a/fcBuvKy   *A Weakened China Tries a Different Approach With the U.S.: Treading Lightly* by Keith Bradsher, Alan Rappeport and Glenn Thrush https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/china-trade-war.html   *Scholars Respond: New Trade Deal with Mexic

Craig Torres is a reporter for Bloomberg News where has earned several rewards for his reporting on Fed policy. Previously, Craig also served as the chief of the Wall Street Journal’s Mexico City bureau, where his work on the collapse of the peso in the mid 90’s made him a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. He joins the show today to discuss some the stories he has written while reporting on the Fed and the economy. David and Craig also discuss the Fed’s increase in transparency under Jay Powell, the current state of U.S. monetary policy, and effects of automation on demographics and the economy.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01112019/war-stories-fed   Craig’s Twitter: @ctorresreporter Craig’s Bloomberg archive: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AElDlyQuDPM/craig-torres   Related Links:   *New Blue-Collar Jobs Will Survive the Rise of AI* by Craig Torres https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-01/new-blue-collar-jobs-will-survive-the-r

Julia Coronado is the president and founder of Macro Policy Perspectives, a Wall Street research firm. Previously, she was a chief economist for Graham Capital Management and a senior economist at BNP Paribas. Julia also served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for over a decade, and she joins the show today to talk about the Fed’s latest rate hikes and other recent economic developments. David and Julia also discuss the Fed’s recent financial stability report, why inflation has been persistently low, and ways to improve communications between the Fed and the market.   Julia’s Twitter: @jc_econ Julia’s Macropolicy Perspectives profile: https://www.macropolicyperspectives.com/about/   Related Links:    Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01072019/micro-foundations-macro-questions(link forthcoming)   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Brian Goff is the distinguished professor of economics at the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University. He is the author of the Econosports blog at Forbes and most recently the author of a new book titled, *Sports Economics Uncut*. Brian joins the show today to talk about the economics behind professional and collegiate sports across the United States. David and Brian also discuss stadium subsidies, the relationship between salary caps and dynasties, and why there may need to be serious reform at the collegiate sports level.   Brian’s blog: https://www.forbes.com/sites/briangoff/#393eb9d01647 Brian’s WKU profile: https://www.wku.edu/economics/staff/brian_goff   Related Links:   *Sports Economics Uncut* by Brian Goff https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/sports-economics-uncut   *eBooks link: https://www.ebooks.com/96329982/sports-economics-uncut/goff-brian/   *Football Still Americans’ Favorite Sport to Watch* by Jim Norman https://news.gallup.com/poll/224864/football-americans-favorite-sport-wa

Felix Salmon is a financial journalist at Axios and the host of the Slate Money podcast. In this special holiday episode, Felix joins the show to discuss the economics of charitable giving and one of his other favorite topics, sovereign debt. David and Felix also discuss debt contract innovations, effective altruism, and ways to improve charitable giving across the U.S. and the globe.   Felix’s Twitter: @felixsalmon Felix’s website: http://www.felixsalmon.com/   Related Links:   Axios Edge newsletter: https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-edge Recipe for Disaster: The Formula that Killed Wall Street by Felix Salmon https://www.wired.com/2009/02/wp-quant/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Matt Mitchell is the director and senior research fellow at the Equity Initiative at the Mercatus Center. He joins the show today to talk about rent seeking and how it affects long term economic growth and prosperity. David and Matt also discuss regulatory capture, the rise of patent trolls, and the economics of public choice theory.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12172018/macroeconomics-rent-seeking   Matt’s Twitter: @MattMitchell80 Matt’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/matthew-mitchell   Related Links:   *Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty* by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson https://scholar.harvard.edu/jrobinson/publications/why-nations-fail-origins-power-prosperity-and-poverty   *The Political Economy of the Rent-Seeking Society* by Anne Krueger https://www.jstor.org/stable/1808883?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents   *Entrepreneurship: Production, Unproductive, and Destructive* by William Baumol https://www.jstor.org/stable/293

 Josh Galper is the managing principal of Finadium, an independent consultancy in capital markets with unique expertise in securities, finance, collateral, and derivatives. He joins the show today to talk about money markets, overnight interest rates, and some of the big issues in this area. David and Josh also discuss the Lehman Brothers collapse, the “Narrow Bank,” and what we should know about key interest rates; namely the repo rate, LIBOR, interest on excess reserves rate, and SOFR.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12072018/plumbing-monetary-policy   Josh’s Twitter: @Finadium Josh’s Finadium profile: https://finadium.com/josh-galper-mba/   Related Links:   Finadium’s homepage: http://finadium.com   Finadium’s magazine: http://securitiesfinancemonitor.com   *Second Report of the Alternative Reference Rates Committee* by the New York Fed https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/Microsites/arrc/files/2018/ARRC-Second-report   *The SOFR Transition: Benchmarks, Futures, a

Victoria Guida is a reporter for Politico where she covers monetary policy and financial regulation, including extensive coverage of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the Treasury Department, and Congress. She joins the show today to talk about some of the big developments in monetary policy and financial regulation over the past few years and what kind of policy changes may be on the horizon. David and Victoria also discuss the Financial CHOICE Act, the accomplishments and failures of the current lame duck Congress, and what to expect from the new appointees at the Fed.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12032018/victoria-guida-politics-monetary-policy   Victoria’s Twitter: @vtg2 Victoria’s Politico profile: https://www.politico.com/staff/victoria-guida   Related Links:   *Big Banks, Feeling Unloved in Trump’s Washington, Shake Up Lobbying* by Zachary Warmbrodt https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/09/banks-lobbying-donald-trump-669706   *A Bank’s Activities, Not Its Assets

Neil Irwin is a senior economics correspondent for the New York Times and was formerly a columnist at the Washington Post. He is the author of the book, *The Alchemist: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire*, and he joins the show today to talk about his work as an economics correspondent. David and Neil also discuss the invisible recession of 2016, how monopsony power affects labor market wage setting, and the political fallout from the Great Recession.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/11262018/economic-journalism-recession-economics-and-international-monetary-policies   Neil’s Twitter: @Neil_Irwin Neil’s New York Times profile: https://www.nytimes.com/by/neil-irwin   Related Links:   *The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire* by Neil Irwin https://www.amazon.com/Alchemists-Three-Central-Bankers-World/dp/0143124994   *The Policymakers Saved the Financial System. And America Never Forgave Them* by Neil Irwin https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/upshot

Adam Ozimek is a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics where he covers U.S. labor markets and demographics while actively blogging and tweeting about a wide range economic issues. He joins the show today to discuss mistakes in Fed policy and demographics. David and Adam also discuss the role demand played in the Great Recession, the link between population growth and inflation, and why the economy is experiencing weak productivity growth.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/11192018/adam-ozimek-inflation-migration-and-productivity   Adam’s Twitter: @ModeledBehavior Adam’s blog: https://www.economy.com/dismal/analysis/datapoints Adam’s website: https://www.adamozimek.com   Related Links:   If you would like access to *The Fed’s Mistake*, you can email Adam at Adam.Ozimek@moodys.com to request the paper.   *Population Growth and Inflation* by Adam Ozimek https://www.economy.com/getlocal?q=a7c139c0-2b8c-4abf-9b65-bd8b11392939&app=eccafile   *Declining Business Dynamism in

This week, Scott Sumner joins David Beckworth at the University of Texas at Austin for the Financial Crisis Symposium: “Ten Years Later: What Does the Data Say?” hosted by the Center for Enterprise and Policy Analytics at the McCombs School of Business. In this special live episode, Scott offers his thoughts on what the data tells us about the 2008 Financial Crisis from a monetary policy perspective. David and Scott also discuss using markets to guide monetary policy, why the Fed should conduct retrospective analyses, why we may want to replicate Australian monetary policy, and more. Transcript to this week's episode   Scott’s Mercatus profile Scott’s blog    Related Links:   *Pause Interest-Rate Hikes to Help the Labor Force Grow* by Neel Kashkari   David’s blog David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth   Audio recording provided by the LAITS Audio Development Studio at the University of Texas at Austin

Mike Derby is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who covers the Federal Reserve. He joins the show today to talk about his coverage of recent developments in the economy and in Fed policy. David and Mike also discuss the future of the Fed’s operating framework, what an inversion of the Treasury yield curve portends, and the normalization of monetary policy after the 2008 Financial Crisis. Mike’s Twitter: @michaelsderby Mike’s Wall Street Journal archive: http://www.wsj.com/news/author/8347 Related Links: * Fed’s Evans: U.S. Economy ‘Firing on All Cylinders’* by Michael Derby https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-evans-u-s-economy-firing-on-all-cylinders-1536930039 *Derby’s Take: Watch Out, There’s a Fedspeak Storm Coming* by Michael Derby https://www.wsj.com/articles/derbys-take-watch-out-theres-a-fedspeak-storm-coming-1538386200 *Derby’s Take: Fed Rate-Range Settings Could See More Tweaks* by Michael Derby https://www.wsj.com/articles/derbys-take-fed-rate-range-settings-could-see-more-tweaks-1538127000 *Bank