Macro Hive Conversations With Bilal Hafeez Ep. 325: Chris Hughes on Misunderstood Fed Chairs, Fed Balance Sheet and Offshore Dollars
Sep 11, 2025
Chris Hughes, economist and author, currently chairs the Economic Security Project and co-founded Facebook. He discusses the complexities of antitrust in today's economy and how corporate concentration affects wages. The conversation dives into the historical significance of the Bretton Woods collapse and the rise of offshore dollar markets. Hughes also reevaluates the legacy of former Fed Chair Paul Volcker, questioning his impact on inflation and the current monetary landscape, as well as the evolving status of the U.S. dollar in the global economy.
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States Shape Markets Deliberately
- Market Crafters are individuals using state power to shape markets to meet social and political goals.
- Their actions can be beneficial or harmful depending on intent and execution.
Late 60s–70s Remade Global Finance
- The late 1960s–1970s reshaped modern global finance and many current assumptions trace to that era.
- Failures and experiments then created institutions and norms we still rely on today.
Offshore Dollars Created Global Liquidity
- Offshore dollars (eurodollars) are dollar liabilities issued outside the US and not backed by the Fed.
- They expanded global dollar liquidity and became central to international finance.
