

Macro Musings with David Beckworth
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Hosted by David Beckworth of the Mercatus Center, Macro Musings pulls back the curtain on the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 26, 2021 • 59min
Robert McCauley on the Global Domain of the Dollar and Threats to Its Dominance
Robert McCauley is a Senior Fellow at the Global Policy Center at Boston University and a Senior Research Associate of the Global History of Capitalism project at the Oxford Center for Global History. Robert also worked at the Bank for International Settlements for 25 years and the New York Federal Reserve Bank for 14 years, and he joins Macro Musings to discuss questions surrounding the global domain of the dollar. Specifically, Robert and David talk about how the US currency rose to prominence internationally in the 1950s, the size and influence of the global dollar zone, dilemmas imposed by dollar demand worldwide, and more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Robert's Boston University profile: https://www.bu.edu/gdp/profile/robert-mccauley/ Robert's BIS archive: https://www.bis.org/author/robert_n_mccauley.htm Related Links: *The Global Domain of the Dollar: Eight Questions* by Robert McCauley https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2021/02/McCauley2021_Article_TheGlobalDomainOfTheDollarEigh.pdf David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Apr 19, 2021 • 56min
Antonio Fatás on Hysteresis and the Business Cycle
Antonio Fatás is a professor of economics at INSEAD, an international business school with campuses in Singapore, France, and Abu Dhabi. Antonio joins David on Macro Musings to talk about hysteresis and the business cycle. Specifically, David and Antonio discuss the history of the academic literature on business cycle and trend, the impact of the Kydland and Prescott model, and how endogenous growth models play into hysteresis. Support Macro Musings and get a free NGDP targeting mug: https://donate.mercatus.org/mug/?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=hyperlink&utm_campaign=mug Transcript for the episode can be found here. Antonio's INSEAD profile: https://faculty.insead.edu/fatas/ Antonio's Twitter: @AntonioFatas Related Links: *Hysteresis and the Business Cycle* by Valerie Cerra, Antonio Fatás, and Sweta Saxena https://faculty.insead.edu/fatas/hysteresis.pdf *Time to build and aggregate fluctuations* by F.E. Kydland and E.C. Prescott https://www.jstor.org/stable/1913386?seq=1 *The Dynamic Effects of Aggregate Demand and Supply Disturbances* by Olivier Jean Blanchard and Danny Quah https://www.jstor.org/stable/1827924?origin=JSTOR-pdf&seq=1 David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Apr 12, 2021 • 59min
Matteo Maggiori on the Global Capital Allocation Project, Exorbitant Privilege, and Dollar Runs
Matteo Maggiori is an associate professor of economics at Stanford University and joins David on Macro Musings to talk about global capital flows, reserve currencies, and the international monetary system. Specifically, David and Matteo also discuss the details of the Global Capital Allocation Project, the US and its status as banker to the world, the possibility we could see a major run on the dollar in the near future, and more. Support Macro Musings and get a free mug: https://donate.mercatus.org/mug/?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=hyperlink&utm_campaign=mug Transcript for the episode can be found here. Matteo's Twitter: @m_maggiori Matteo's website: https://www.matteomaggiori.com/ Matteo's Stanford profile: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/matteo-maggiori Related Links: The Global Capital Allocation Project: https://www.globalcapitalallocation.com/ *The Rise of the Dollar and Fall of the Euro as International Currencies* by Matteo Maggiori, Brent Neiman, and Jesse Schreger https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/maggiori/files/mns_pandp.pdf *A Model of the International Monetary System* by Emmanuel Farhi and Matteo Maggiori https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/farhi/files/ims.pdf David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Apr 5, 2021 • 48min
Scott Skyrm on the Dynamics of the Repo Market in 2021
Scott Skyrm is the Executive Vice President in Fixed Income and Repo at Curvature Securities. Scott joins David on Macro Musings to discuss REPO markets, where they have been and where they are going. Specifically, Scott and David discuss the role of broker-dealers like Curvature Securities in the repo market, how repo markets are tied to treasury markets and government deficit financing, why repo rates have recently entered negative territory, potential reforms to the repo market, and much more. Support Macro Musings and get a free mug: https://donate.mercatus.org/mug/?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=hyperlink&utm_campaign=mug Transcript for the episode can be found here. Scott's Twitter: @ScottSkyrm Scott's Bio: http://curvaturesecurities.com/our-team/#1540493883550-e8ec7543-62d3 David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Mar 29, 2021 • 57min
Ed Nelson on Milton Friedman's Legacy, the Quantity Theory of Money, and His Vision for a Money Supply Growth Rule
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 and has worked at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, as well as the Bank of England. Returning to the podcast, Ed re-joins Macro Musings to talk about his new book, *Milton Friedman and the Economic Debate in the United States: 1932-1972*. Ed and David specifically discuss the life and work of Milton Friedman, as they explore his journey into monetarism, his contributions to the quantity theory of money, how he envisioned a money supply growth rule, and more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Ed's website: https://sites.google.com/site/edwardnelsonresearch/ Ed's Fed profile: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/edward-nelson.htm Related Links: *Milton Friedman and the Economic Debate in the United States, 1932-1972: Volume 1* by Edward Nelson https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo47674126.html *Milton Friedman and the Economic Debate in the United States, 1932-1972: Volume 2* by Edward Nelson https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo47674466.html *A Monetary and Fiscal Framework for Economic Stability* by Milton Friedman https://www.jstor.org/stable/1810624?seq=1 *Some Unpleasant Monetarist Arithmetic* by Neil Wallace and Thomas Sargent https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/quarterly-review/some-unpleasant-monetarist-arithmetic *Money Mischief: Episodes in Monetary History* by Milton Friedman https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/261872 David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Mar 22, 2021 • 58min
Dan Awrey on *Unbundling Banking, Payments and Money*
Dan Awrey is a professor of law at Cornell Law School, a financial markets regulation scholar, and the editor of the Journal of Financial Regulation. Dan joins David on Macro Musings to discuss how to promote greater financial innovation, financial inclusion, and alleviate the "too big to fail" problem by safely unbundling banking, money, and payments in our financial system. Dan and David also go on to discuss tensions in the global shadow banking system, the history of how banks evolved to play such a central role in our financial system, how the law has reinforced this bundling of the banks' roles, and much more. Transcript of the episode can be found here. Dan's Twitter: @DanAwrey Dan's Cornell Law Profile: https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/daniel-awrey Related Links: *Unbundling Banking, Payments and Money* by Dan Awrey https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3776739 *Brother, Can You Spare a Dollar? Designing an Effective Framework for Foreign Currency Liquidity Assistance* by Dan Awrey https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2955763 *The Money Problem* by Morgan Ricks https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo22438821.html David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Mar 15, 2021 • 56min
Chris Russo on Existing Fed-Treasury Tensions and Potential Solutions for Fixing Them
Chris Russo is a Monetary Policy Program Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and has previously worked at the New York Federal Reserve Bank. He joins Macro Musings to talk about the work he is doing on tensions between the Fed and the Treasury's management of their respective balance sheets. Specifically, David and Chris discuss what these tensions are and what fixes can be implemented to ameliorate the existing plumbing issues. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Chris's Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/christopher-russo Chris's Github site: https://christopher-russo.github.io/about/ David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Mar 8, 2021 • 58min
Saule Omarova on Emergency Fiscal Facilities and the Missing Architecture of Government Finance
Saule Omarova is a professor of law and the director of the Jack Clarke Program on the Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions and Markets at Cornell University. Saule joins Macro Musings to talk about the prospects of an emergency fiscal facility, as well as a broader vision for a National Investment Authority. Specifically, Saule and David discuss the need for a third public finance agency, what the mandate of such an authority would be, and how the agency would be structured and held accountable. Saule also answers common objections to her vision such as the potential institutional redundancies, as well as how to prevent cronyism and excessive politicization. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Saule's Twitter: @STOmarova Saule's Cornell profile: https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty/bio_saule_omarova.cfm Related Links: *Data For Progress: A National Investment Authority* https://www.dataforprogress.org/a-national-investment-authority *Why We Need a National Investment Authority* by Saule Omarova https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3566462 *The People's Ledger: How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy* by Saule Omarova https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3715735 *What Kind of Finance Should There Be?* by Saule Omarova https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3544103 *White Paper: A National Investment Authority* by Saule Omarova and Robert C. Hockett https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3125533 *The Money Problem* by Morgan Ricks https://www.amazon.com/Money-Problem-Rethinking-Financial-Regulation/dp/022633032X David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Mar 1, 2021 • 57min
Pat Parkinson on the 2020 Treasury Market Meltdown and How to Avoid a Potential Sequel
Pat Parkinson is a senior fellow at the Bank Policy Institute and a 30-year veteran of the Federal Reserve system, where he served as director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation. During that time, he was also a member of the Basel Committee on Banking and advised Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Tim Geithner on financial market issues. Pat joins Macro Musings to discuss the treasury market meltdown in March 2020, as well as what we can do moving forward to avoid this issue from happening again. Specifically, David and Pat outline the implementation of a standing repo facility, changes to the supplemental leverage ratio, expanded central clearing, and increased data collection as possible solutions to this problem. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Pat's BPI profile: https://bpi.com/people/pat-parkinson/ Related Links: *Enhancing Liquidity of the U.S. Treasury Market Under Stress* by Nellie Liang and Pat Parkinson https://www.brookings.edu/research/enhancing-liquidity-of-the-u-s-treasury-market-under-stress/ *US Treasuries: The Lessons from March's Market Meltdown* by Colby Smith and Robin Wigglesworth https://www.ft.com/content/ea6f3104-eeec-466a-a082-76ae78d430fd David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Feb 22, 2021 • 49min
Kathy Bostjancic on Priorities for the Fed in 2021 and Beyond
Kathy Bostjancic is the chief US financial economist at Oxford Economics and joins Macro Musings to discuss the outlook for monetary and fiscal policy in 2021 as well as in financial markets. Specifically, David and Kathy discuss the prospects for Fed policy and personnel under the Biden Administration, immediate concerns facing the Fed as the COVID pandemic continues into 2021, what steps the Fed can take to make their new AIT framework credible, how large scale asset purchases have impacted asset prices and the real economy, and much more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Kathy's Twitter: @BostjancicKathy Kathy's Oxford Economics profile: https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/about-us/staff/267824/kathy-bostjancic David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth


