Macro Musings

Brian Blackstone is a Switzerland bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal and previously covered the European Central Bank from the Wall Street Journal’s Frankfurt office as well as the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis. He joins the show today to talk about the Swiss referendum on sovereign money in addition to his insights on the European Central Bank. David and Brian also discuss the effects of an enlarged balance sheet at the Swiss National Bank, whether they should be the only national entity in control of money creation, and how the Swiss economy has fared since the Great Recession. Brian’s Twitter: @Blackstonebrian Brian’s WSJ profile: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/7515 Related Links: *How Switzerland Lost a Currency Battle, but Won the War* by Brian Blackstone and Pat Minczeski https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-switzerland-lost-a-currency-battle-but-won-the-war-1524216601 *Why Italy is Flirting with Euro Exit and Spain Isn’t* by Greg Ip https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-italy-is-flirting-wi

Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center with the Program on the American Economy and Globalization. Christine previously held several positions within the U.S. government including deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department and senior trade economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisors. She joins the show today to talk about the issues of intellectual property and trade. David and Christine also discuss the importance of reviving the Trans-Pacific Partnership, problems with patent systems across the globe, and the history and current scale of intellectual property theft. Christine’s Twitter: @christinemcdan Christine’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/christine-mcdaniel David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Sam Hammond is a poverty and welfare policy analyst for the Niskanen Center and has recently published a new paper titled, *The Free-Market Welfare State: Preserving Dynamism in a Volatile World*. He joins the show today to discuss the paper along with some of his other research. Sam and David also discuss the repercussions of the China shock, how to reform America’s welfare system, and the design characteristics that would define an ideal social insurance state. Sam’s Twitter: @hamandcheese Sam’s Medium profile: https://medium.com/@hamandcheese Related Links: *The Free-Market Welfare State: Preserving Dynamism in a Volatile World* by Sam Hammond https://niskanencenter.org/blog/the-free-market-welfare-state-preserving-dynamism-in-a-volatile-world/ *From Tiananmen to Outsourcing: the Effect of rising Import Competition on Congressional Voting Towards China* by John Seungmin Kuk, Deborah Seligsohn, & Jiakun Jack Zhang https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10670564.2017.1363024?journalCode=cjcc20 *Popu

Michael Darda is a chief economist and market strategist at MKM Partners. Michael is also a frequent guest on financial television and radio and is routinely quoted in “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times”, “Barron’s”, and other financial publications. He joins the show today to talk about his work conducting macroeconomic market research as well as his views on the market itself. David and Michael also discuss his shift from supply-side economics to market monetarism, the Fed’s performance during and after the Great Recession, and the potential effects of a flattening Treasury yield curve. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Michael’s MKM Partners profile: http://www.mkmpartners.com/research/ Michael’s Bloomberg profile: https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=48822180&privcapId=40334090

Razeen Sally is an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and formerly taught at the London School of Economics. He is also the Chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies, the main economic policy think tank in Sri Lanka and a senior advisor to Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance. Today, he joins the show to discuss the state of international economic affairs and how it specifically relates to Asia. Razeen explains why he believes the U.S. should stay engaged within Asia and also shares his thoughts on China’s demographic problem as well as the effects of the Trump administration’s increased protectionism. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Razeen’s Lee Kuan Yew profile: http://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/our-people/our-faculty/faculty-profile/razeen-sally Razeen’s Twitter: @razeensally Related Links: *Why Global Order Still Needs America in Asia* by Razeen Sally http://ecipe.org/app/uploads/2017/07/Razeen-Sally-Qu

David is the Vice President of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, and has published widely in the field of monetary economics. He also writes for his blog, MacroMania, where he covers a multitude of economic topics. David joins the show today to discuss the economics behind the Phillips Curve, and to help provide a greater understanding of the debate surrounding it. They also discuss the mystery of low inflation in the United States, the excess money demand problem, and the important role debt plays within international monetary policy. David Beckworth’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth David Andolfatto’s Twitter: @dandolfa David Andolfatto’s blog: andolfatto.blogspot.com

Jim Hamilton is a professor of economics at the University of California-San Diego and the author of *Time Series Analysis,* a popular graduate-level econometrics textbook. Today, Jim joins the show to discuss his work in econometrics as well as his research on the role oil plays in the U.S. economy. He also shares his thoughts on how oil will continue to shape the economy in light of the rise of clean energy. David and Jim also discuss recent U.S. monetary policy and why interest rates have been so very low. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Jim Hamilton’s UC San Diego profile: http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~jhamilton/ Jim Hamilton’s Twitter: @JHamilton _UCSD Jim Hamilton's blog: http://econbrowser.com/ *Time Series Analysis* by James Hamilton https://www.amazon.com/Time-Analysis-James-Douglas-Hamilton/dp/0691042896

Daniela Gabor is a professor of economics and finance at the University of West England at Bristol and a monetary economist. She specializes in shadow banking, capital markets, and transnational banking. Today, she joins the show to discuss her new paper, *Chasing Unicorns: The European Single Safe Asset Project*. David and Daniela also discuss merits of equity-based banking, elements of the shadow banking system, and Europe’s quest for a safe asset. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Daniela’s Twitter: @DanielaGabor Daniela’s UWE Bristol profile: https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/DanielaGabor Related Links: *Chasing Unicorns: The European Single Safe Asset Project* by Daniela Gabor http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1024529418759638 *Inside Safe Assets* by Anna Gelpern and Erik Gerding https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1831/ *The Growth of Financial Banking* by Anna Youngman https://www.jstor.org/stable/1817326?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents *The R

Morgan Ricks is a law professor at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he was a senior policy advisor and financial restructuring expert at the U.S. Treasury Department where he focused primarily on financial stability initiatives and capital market policy in response to the financial crisis. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new paper, *Money as Infrastructure* where he contrasts what he calls the “intermediation paradigm” of banking and the “money paradigm.” Morgan also shares his thoughts on the government’s role in money, the history of free banking, and current-day banking regulation. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Morgan’s Twitter: @MorganRicks1 Morgan’s Vanderbilt profile: https://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/morgan-ricks Related Links: *Money as Infrastructure* by Morgan Ricks https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3070270 *The Money Problem* by Morgan Ricks http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo22438821.html

Ioana Marinescu is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Today she joins the show to highlight her work on the concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). David and Ioana discuss how a UBI would work and how it compares and contrasts with Milton Friedman’s related negative income tax proposal. They also discuss the economic and social effects of a UBI, some experimental evidence of the policy, and the political feasibility of such a program. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Ioana’s Twitter: @mioana Ioana’s website: http://www.marinescu.eu/ Related Links: *No Strings Attached: The Behavioral Effects of U.S. Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs* by Ioana Marinescu http://www.marinescu.eu/Marinescu_UBI_review_2017.pdf *The Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund* by Damon Jones and Ioana Marinescu ht

Macro Musings is celebrating its 100th episode, and for this special occasion, we have an all-star panel of guests joining the show! Heather Long is an economics correspondent for the Washington Post and formerly was a senior reporter at CNN. Ryan Avent is a columnist for the Economist Magazine and author of several books including his most recent work, *The Wealth of Humans: Work, Power, and Status in the Twenty-first Century*. Cardiff Garcia is the co-host of NPR’s The Indicator from Planet Money and was formerly with the Financial Times. Today, they join the show to discuss the top economic issues and lessons in last 10 years since the Great Recession, and what predictions they’ve made that haven’t come true. They also discuss the current trends of stagnant wage growth, the economic insecurity of the American workforce, and the dramatic change in the structure of labor markets. [To sign-up for Mercatus’ NGDP prediction market, go to get.mercatus.org/ngdppredictions/. Just answer a few simple questions, and

Ed Nelson is a senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and formerly worked at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of England. Today, he joins the show to discuss his research on the role of money in business cycles. David and Ed also discuss nominal income targeting, Milton’s Friedman’s influence on monetary economics, and Australia’s successful monetary policy performance. [To sign-up for Mercatus’ NGDP prediction market, go to get.mercatus.org/ngdppredictions/. Just answer a few simple questions, and you’ll receive an email invitation to start forecasting!] David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Ed’s Federal Reserve profile: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/edward-nelson.htm Related Links: *Tobin’s Imperfect Asset Substitution in Optimizing General Equilibrium* by Javier Andrés, J. David López-Salido, and Edward Nelson https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/46d3/a4a1f1b5a6b08158f06edd6c7122fbc23c7f.pdf *Nominal GDP Targeting and the Taylor

Daniel Griswold is a Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Program on the American Economy and Globalization at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He joins the show to discuss the theory of trade, dating back to Adam Smith, and his work on current US trade policy. Daniel and David discuss some of the misconceptions surrounding trade and why Americans should embrace free trade instead of protectionism. This episode was originally aired on May 1, 2017. [To sign-up for Mercatus’ NGDP prediction market, go to get.mercatus.org/ngdppredictions/. Just answer a few simple questions, and you’ll receive an email invitation to start forecasting!] David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Daniel Griswold’s blog: madabouttrade.com/ David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Daniel Griswold’s Twitter: @DanielGriswold Related links: “Plumbing America’s Balance of Trade” by Daniel Griswold www.mercatus.org/publications/ame…balance-of-trade *Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embra

Noah Smith is a Bloomberg View columnist and formerly a professor of finance at Stony Brook University. Today, he joins the show to talk about his journey into the economics blogosphere and some of his recent work on immigration into the United States. . David and Noah discuss some of the false narratives surrounding immigration as well as the impact of immigration on native workers’ wages, labor markets, and the broader economy. [To sign-up for Mercatus’ NGDP prediction market, go to https://get.mercatus.org/ngdppredictions/. Just answer a few simple questions, and you’ll receive an email invitation to start forecasting!] David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Noah’s Bloomberg View archive: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/contributors/AR3OYuAmvcU/noah-smith Noah’s blog: http://noahpinionblog.blogspot.com/ Noah’s Twitter: @Noahpinion "The Economics and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration," National Academy of Science https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23550/the-economic-and-fisc

Kevin Hassett is the chair of President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, a former scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a professor at Columbia University, and a Fed Economist. Kevin has also advised John McCain, George W. Bush, and Mitt Romney on their presidential campaigns. Today, he joins the show today to outline some of the big issues of the past and present facing the U.S. economy. Kevin argues that Obama administration policies exacerbated the sluggish nature of the recovery from the Great Recession and explains how he thinks President Trump’s policies on taxes, deregulation, and infrastructure will lead to stronger economic growth. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Kevin’s AEI profile: https://www.aei.org/profile/kevin-a-hassett/ Kevin’s White House profile: https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/staff/ Related Links: *2018 Economic Report of the President* https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/growing-american-economy-economic-report-presid

Brink Lindsey is the Vice President and Director of the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center, and Steven Teles is a Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center. Today, they join the show to discuss their new book, *The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Enrich Themselves, Slow Down Growth, and Increase Inequality.* For Lindsey and Teles, slow growth and inequality are “twin melees” that are harming the economy. They discuss some of the issues at the root of these problems, including excessive occupational licensing laws and zoning regulations, as well as some ways to fix them. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Brink’s Twitter: @lindsey_brink Brink’s Niskanen profile: https://niskanencenter.org/blog/staff/brink-lindsey/ Steven’s Niskanen profile: https://niskanencenter.org/blog/staff/brink-lindsey/ Related links: *The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Enrich Themselves, Slow Down Growth, and Increase

George Selgin is the Director of the Cato Institute Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Georgia. Today, George joins the show to discuss the shrinking of the Fed’s balance sheet, the difference between corridor and floor systems in monetary policy, and the Fed’s practice of paying interest on excess reserves. David and George also discuss the issues of legality surrounding interest on reserves as well as why the Fed prefers a floor system to a corridor system and why George doesn’t! David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Alt-M Archive: https://www.alt-m.org/author/selgin/

Mike Konczal is a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute where he works on financial reform, unemployment, inequality, and a progressive vision of the economy. He has also recently co-authored a paper with J.W. Mason titled, “A New Direction for the Federal Reserve: Expanding the Monetary Policy Toolkit.” Today, Mike joins the show to discuss the progress of financial regulation, the Federal Reserve’s performance over the past decade, and new tools the Fed could utilize to better stabilize the economy in the present and future. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Mike Konczal’s Twitter: @rortybomb Mike Konczal and J.W. Mason’s Paper: http://rooseveltinstitute.org/expanding-monetary-policy-toolkit/

Neel Kashkari is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Ron Feldman is the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Today, they join the show to describe the Minneapolis Plan to End Too Big to Fail, the Minneapolis Fed’s proposal to end the problem of systemic risk to the economy posed by excessively large financial institutions. Neel also shares his thoughts on improving Fed transparency and monetary policy. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, we had some audio problems during the recording, but because this conversation is so important and interesting we wanted to bring it you anyway. And, if you prefer, we’ve also made a transcript, which is linked to below. Transcript of today’s conversation https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts/neel-kashkari-ron-feldman-minneapolis-plan-monetary-policy-reform *The Minneapolis Plan to End Too Big to Fail* https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/special-studies/endingtbtf Neel Kashkar

Ángel Ubide is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and formerly was a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new book *The Paradox of Risk: Leaving the Monetary Policy Comfort Zone.* Ángel argues that the Federal Reserve has become too afraid to take risks when implementing new policies. Instead, he offers alternative proposals aimed to move monetary policy out of its comfort zone. David and Ángel also discuss the Eurozone crisis, the ECB, and using more effective communication, accountability, and greater transparency to minimize biases within monetary policy. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Ángel Ubide’s Twitter: @AngelUbide Ángel Ubide’s book: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-paradox-of-risk/9780881327199 “The Latest Central Bank Fad: Asymmetric Inflation Targeting” by David Beckworth(Bull’s Eye images of symmetric and asymmetric targets) http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-