Macro Musings

Colby Smith is the US economics editor for the Financial Times, Steven Kelly is the Associate Director of Research at the Yale Program on Financial Stability, and Gerard DiPippo is the Senior Geoeconomics Analyst at Bloomberg. For this special year-end episode of Macro Musings, Colby, Steven, and Gerard join David to talk about the major surprises, themes, and underreported as well as overreported stories of the past year. They also discuss their prediction outcomes throughout 2023, the economic and political landscape ahead for 2024, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Colby’s FT profile Colby’s Twitter: @colbyLsmith   Steven’s Substack: Without Warning Steven’s Twitter: @StevenKelly49   Gerard’s Twitter: @gdp1985   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Sunk Costs: The Difficulty of Using Sanctions to Deter China in a Taiwan Crisis* by Gerard DiPipp

Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University, and is the co-author of the popular economics blog, Marginal Revolution. Tyler has also published widely in the field of economics, and he is the author of numerous books, including his most recent one titled, *GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of All Time, and Why Does it Matter?* As a returning guest to show, Tyler rejoins Macro Musings for this special holiday episode to break down who should be considered the greatest economist of all time. David and Tyler also assign awards to the best performing macroeconomic theories of the past decade, in addition to discussing Tyler’s view on recent deflationary trends, the Fed’s framework, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Tyler’s Mercatus profile Tyler’s blog: Marginal Revolution Tyler’s Twitter: @tylercowen   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Donate to Macro Musings! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musi

Nicolas Cachanosky is an associate professor of economics at the University of Texas at El Paso, and he, along with Emilio Ocampo, are the authors of a recent book titled, *Dollarization: A Solution for Argentina.* Nicolas joins Macro Musings to talk about the potential dollarization of Argentina, including what it would require and mean for the country. Specifically, David and Nicolas also discuss Argentina’s hyperinflationary experience, the three necessary steps for dollarization, the differences between dollarization and currency boards, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Nicolas’s Substack: Economic Order Nicolas’s Twitter: @n_cachanosky Nicolas’s website Nicolas’s UTEP profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Donate to Macro Musings! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Dollarization: A Solution for Argentina* by Nicolas Cachanosky and Emilio Ocampo   *How to Dollarize Arg

Charles Evans was a 31-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System, serving as a researcher, vice president, and, ultimately, president and CEO of the Chicago Fed from 2007 to 2023. Charles joins Macro Musings to talk about his past and ongoing work on US monetary policy. Specifically, Charles and David discuss his work as a regional bank president and a member of the FOMC, the creation and adoption of the Evans rule, the current path of R-Star, the future of the Fed’s framework, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Charles’s Chicago Fed profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Donate to Macro Musings! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Implications for the Federal Reserve’s MP Framework in the Future* by Charles Evans

Matteo Maggiori is a professor of finance at Stanford University and a returning guest to the podcast, and Jesse Schreger is an associate professor of economics at Columbia University. Matteo and Jesse, along with Christopher Clayton, have recently authored a paper titled, *A Framework for Geoeconomics,* and they join David on Macro Musings to discuss it. Specifically, Matteo, Jesse, and David also discuss the basics, core concepts, and real world examples of geoeconomics, the key elements of a global hegemon, the future of the discipline, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Matteo’s Twitter: @m_maggiori Matteo’s Stanford profile Matteo’s website   Jesse’s Twitter: @JSchreger Jesse’s Columbia profile Jesse’s website   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Donate to Macro Musings! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *A Framework for Geoeconomics* by Christopher Clayton, Matteo Maggiori

Matthew Raskin is the US head of rates research at Deutsche Bank and was formerly a senior staff member of the Federal Reserve System. Matthew joins David on Macro Musings to talk about interest rates, QE, QT, and the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. David and Matthew also discuss the inside story behind the Fed’s shift in operating system, Matthew’s framework for long-term interest rates, how to improve the liquidity and stability of the Treasury market, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Matthew’s LinkedIn profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Financial Market Effects of the Federal Reserve’s Large-Scale Asset Purchases* by Joseph Gagnon, Matthew Raskin, Julie Remache, and Brian Sack

David Papell is a professor of economics at the University of Houston and has published widely on monetary policy rules. David joins Macro Musings to talk about his recent paper, *Policy Rules and Forward Guidance Following the COVID-19 Recession,* as well as the origins, past uses, and current applications of monetary policy rules.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   David’s Twitter: @DavidPapell David’s University of Houston portal   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Fed Approaches the End of the Rate Hiking Cycle* by David Papell and Ruxandra Prodan   *Policy Rules and Forward Guidance Following the COVID-19 Recession* by David Papell and Ruxandra Prodan   *Policy Rule Legislation in Practice* by Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, David Papell, and Ruxandra Prodan   *Policy Rules and Economic Performance* by Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, David Papell, and Ruxandra Pro

Rachel Siegel is a reporter for the Washington Post, where she covers the Federal Reserve and also reports on the domestic economy more broadly. Rachel joins Macro Musings to talk about the current Fed beat as well as her work on other economic issues, including how the Fed deals with physical cash, the precarious state of the commercial real estate market, the potential issues facing voters heading into the 2024 election, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Rachel’s Twitter: @rachsieg Rachels Washington Post profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Two Blocks from the Federal Reserve, a Growing Encampment of the Homeless Grips the Economy’s Most Powerful Person* by Rachel Siegel   *The High-tech, Super-secure Government Warehouse Where Old Cash Dies* by Rachel Siegel, Joy Sharon Yi, Hannah Yoon, and Emily Wright   *How the ‘Urban Doom Loop

Will Bateman is an associate professor and associate dean of research at the Australian National University College of Law. Will has recently authored a paper titled, *The Fiscal Fed,* which takes a close look at the Fed’s fiscal functions during the two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Will joins Macro Musings to talk about this paper, the origins and evolution of the Fed, the implications for policymakers, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Will’s ANU profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Fiscal Fed* by Will Bateman   *The Law of Monetary Finance Under Conventional Monetary Policy* by Will Bateman

PJ Glandon is an associate professor of economics at Kenyon College, where he also serves as chair of the economics department. PJ joins David on Macro Musings to talk about his recent co-authored article, *Macroeconomics Research: Present and Past.* David and PJ also more broadly discuss the state of macroeconomics as a discipline, both in terms of research and pedagogy.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   PJ’s Twitter: @pjglandon PJ’s Kenyon profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Macroeconomics Research, Present and Past* by PJ Glandon, Ken Kuttner, Sandeep Mazumder, and Caleb Stroup   *Let’s Close the Gap: Updating the Textbook Treatment of Monetary Policy* by Jane Ihrig and Scott Wolla

Ed Nelson is a senior advisor in the Monetary Affairs Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Ed has also previously been a professor of economics at the University of Sydney and has worked at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank as well as the Bank of England. Most importantly, however, Ed was also a former student of, and co-author with, the late Bennett McCallum, and he rejoins David for this special live episode of Macro Musings to talk about Bennett McCallum’s life, his work, and his legacy within the field of monetary economics.     Check out the entirety of the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Ed’s website Ed’s Federal Reserve profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!

Sam Hammond is a senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation and is non-resident fellow at the Niskanen Institute. Sam is also a previous guest of the show, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about artificial intelligence and the future of the state. Specifically, David and Sam discuss the current AI environment, how private AI may replace functions of the state, key moments in the techno-feudalistic future of AI, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Sam’s Twitter: @hamandcheese Sam’s FAI profile Sam’s blog   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *AI and Leviathan: The Institutional Economics of an Intelligence Explosion* by Sam Hammond   *AI and Leviathan: Preparing for Regime Change* by Sam Hammond   *AI and Leviathan: A Timeline of Our Techno-Feudalist Future* by Sam Hammond   *Attention is All You Need* by Ashish Vaswani et al.

Marc Goldwein is the Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), where he guides and conducts research on a wide array of topics related to fiscal policy and the federal budget. Marc joins Macro Musings to talk about the US government budget, its structure, its challenges, and its long-term trajectories. David and Marc also discuss the basics of government shutdowns and the budgetary process, how the most recent inflationary episode unfolded, how to fix the US budget over the long run, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Last chance to register for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Marc’s CRFB profile Marc’s Twitter: @MarcGoldwein   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Government Shutdowns Q&A: Everything You Should Know* by the Committee for a Responsible Federal

Lev Menand is an associate professor of law at Columbia University and Josh Younger is a senior policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a lecturer at Columbia Law School. Lev and Josh also recently co-authored a paper titled, *Money and the Public Debt: Treasury Market Liquidity as a Legal Phenomenon.* They are also returning guests to Macro Musings, and rejoin the podcast to talk about this paper and its implications for the Treasury market. Lev, Josh, and David also discuss the transition from bank to market financing, whether an increasing level of debt is leading to more instability, the impact of recent regulations on the primary dealer system, how to restore the balance between public debt and money creation, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Josh’s Columbia Law profile Lev’s Columbia Law profile Lev’s Twitter: @LevMenand   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_

Thomas Hoenig is a distinguished senior fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he focuses on the long-term impacts of the politicization of financial services as well as the effects of government-granted privileges and market performance. He was formerly the vice chair of the FDIC from 2012 to 2018 and the 20 years prior to that, he was president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Tom is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins to talk about the Treasury market, public debt sustainability issues, and the state of banking in the United States. David and Tom also discuss the history of Tom’s influence on the Jackson Hole Conference, the growing size of the US current account deficit, the Fed’s role as the primary Treasury market backstop, the dangers of risk-weighted capital regulation, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Thomas’s Twitter: @tom_hoenig Thomas’s Mercatus profile   Da

Robert McCauley is a senior fellow at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, an Associate Member of the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford, and was formerly at the Bank of International Settlements for 25 years and the New York Federal Reserve Bank for 14 years. Robert is also a returning guest to the show, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his recent article titled, *Bond Market Crisis and the International Lender of Last Resort* David and Robert also discuss the basics of a bond market run, the policy reaction and implications of the 2020 “Dash for Cash”, the possible concerns with corporate bond facilities, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Robert’s Boston University profile Robert’s BIS archive   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Bon

Joe Gagnon is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and was formerly a senior staffer at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Joe is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins the podcast to talk about Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Specifically, Joe and David talk about the future direction of r star, what current inflationary trends mean for the Phillips curve, the Fed’s commitment to a two percent inflation target, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Joe’s Twitter: @GagnonMacro Joe’s PIIE profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Low Inflation Bends the Phillips Curve Around the World* by Joe Gagnon, Kristin Forbes, and Christopher Collins   *Fed Chair Powell’s Message in Jackson Hol

Nicholas Anthony is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and works on issues relating to financial privacy, cryptocurrencies, and the use of money in society. Nicholas joins Macro Musings to talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the recent developments surrounding CBDCs at the Fed and in Congress. Specifically, David and Nicholas discuss the arguments for and against CBDCs, the preemptive, behavioral, and punitive applications of these currencies, who would benefit from the development of CBDCs, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Nicholas’s Twitter @EconWithNick Nicholas’s Cato Institute profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths* by Nicholas Anthony and Norbert Michel   *CBDC Legislation Recap* by Nich

John Coates is a professor of law and economics and the deputy dean of the Harvard Law School. John is also the author of a new book titled, *The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything,* and he joins Macro Musings to talk about it. David and John also discuss the basics and beginnings of index funds, how they may undermine capitalism, the issues with private equity, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   John’s Harvard Law School profile John’s publications archive   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything* by John Coates   *House Republicans Probe BlackRock, Vanguard on Their ESG Policies* by Steven Dennis   *BlackRock Offers a Vote to Retail Investors in its Biggest ETF* by Brooke Masters

Zac Gross is a senior lecturer at Monash University and was formerly an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Zac joins Macro Musings to talk about the Australian central bank and the recent review of its framework. Specifically, David and Zac also break down Australian monetary policy over the past few decades, the RBA’s yield curve control experiment, the future of its operating system, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Zac’s Twitter: @ZacGross Zac’s website Zac’s Substack   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Assessing Australian Monetary Policy in the Twenty-First Century* By Isaac Gross and Andrew Leigh   *An RBA Fit for the Future* by Gordon de Brouwer, Renee Fry-McKibbin, and Carolyn Wilkins