Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Darrell Duffie is a professor of finance at Stanford University, and he joins Macro Musings to discuss the treasury market problems that emerged in March 2020 and what can be done to avoid them in the future. Specifically, Darrell and David lay out the current state of financial markets, the ability of treasury markets, as currently designed, to handle demand shocks, and how central banking reforms can better ensure financial stability in the future.   Register here for the Cato Institute/Mercatus Center Webinar Series - *A Fed for Next Time: Ideas for a Crisis‐​Ready Central Bank*: https://www.cato.org/events/fed-next-time-ideas-crisis-ready-central-bank   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Darrell’s Twitter: @DuffieDarrell Darrell’s website: https://www.darrellduffie.com/ Darrell’s Stanford profile: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/darrell-duffie   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Darrell: https://youtu.be/0Y3MTjgbP74   *Pass-through Efficiency in the Fed’s New Monetary Policy Setting* by Darrell Duffie and Arvind Krishnamurthy https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/passthrough-efficiency-feds-new-monetary-policy-setting   *The Failure Mechanics of Dealer Banks* by Darrell Duffie https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.24.1.51   *Still the World’s Safe Haven? Redesigning the U.S. Treasury Market after the COVID-19 Crisis* by Darrell Duffie https://www.brookings.edu/research/still-the-worlds-safe-haven/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Peter Stella is a former IMF official, where he led the Central Banking and Monetary and Foreign Exchange divisions, and he now hosts a webpage titled *Central Bank Archeology*. Peter is also a former guest of Macro Musings, and rejoins to talk about the COVID-19 crisis, central bank balance sheets, and more. David and Peter also discuss the dangers and challenges of the Fed’s off-balance sheet transactions, how the government should approach crisis financing, and who should be managing the country’s public debt.   The transcript for the episode can be found here.   Peter’s Twitter: @Stellar_Consult Peter’s Voxeu profile: https://voxeu.org/users/peterstella0 Peter’s Research Gate archive: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Stella   Related Links:   Peter's *Central Bank Archaeology* website: https://www.centralbankarchaeology.com/   *Macro Musings: Peter Stella on Debt, Safe Assets, and Central Bank Operations* https://macromusings.libsyn.com/144-peter-stella-on-debt-safe-assets-and-central-bank-operations   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Adam Tooze is a professor of history at Columbia University, and is the author of many books, including his popular account of the 2007-2009 crisis, titled Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crisis Changed the World. Adam joins David on Macro Musings to discuss the COVID-19 crisis, the Eurozone, and the future of central banking. Specifically, Adam and David break down recent events and risks in the global financial system, the future of the dollar as reserve currency, and the implications of the recent German-Franco debt deal for the Eurozone.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Adam’s Twitter: @adam_tooze Adam’s Columbia profile: https://history.columbia.edu/faculty/adam-tooze/ Adam’s website: https://adamtooze.com/   Related Links:   *How Coronavirus Almost Brought Down the Global Financial System* by Adam Tooze https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/14/how-coronavirus-almost-brought-down-the-global-financial-system)   *The Death of the Central Bank Myth* by Adam Tooze https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/13/european-central-bank-myth-monetary-policy-german-court-ruling/   *Still the World's Safe Haven?* by Darrell Duffie https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WP62_Duffie_updated.pdf   *Exchange Arrangements Entering the 21st Century: Which Anchor Will Hold?* by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen M. Reinhart, Kenneth S. Rogoff https://www.nber.org/papers/w23134   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Alp Simsek is an associate professor of economics at MIT, and joins Macro Musings to talk about the link between financial markets, uncertainty and the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, David and Alp discuss the dual absorption problem within financial markets, how supply shocks and demand shocks have inescapably become interwoven phenomenon, and why we should look to using macroprudential policy in the future.   The transcript for the episode can be found here.   Alp’s Twitter: @alpsimsek_econ Alp’s MIT profile: https://economics.mit.edu/faculty/asimsek   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Alp: https://youtu.be/eoGxYcWmH9E   *A Risk-centric Model of Demand Recessions and Speculation* by Ricardo Caballero and Alp Simsek https://www.nber.org/papers/w23614   *A Model of Asset Price Spirals and Aggregate Demand Amplification of a ‘COVID-19’ Shock* by Ricardo Caballero and Alp Simsek https://www.nber.org/papers/w27044   *Prudential Monetary Policy* by Ricardo Caballero and Alp Simsek https://www.nber.org/papers/w25977   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Thomas Hoenig is a former vice chair of the FDIC, former president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, and is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Tom’s research has focused on the long-term impact of the politicization of financial services, as well as the effects of government grant privileges on market performance. Tom joins David on Macro Musings to talk about COVID-19, the Fed's response to its economic impact, and the current state of banking in the United States.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Thomas’s Twitter: @tom_hoenig Thomas’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/thomas-hoenig   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Thomas: https://youtu.be/CrA1WRtu0jc   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Scott Sumner is the Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair of Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Professor Emeritus of economics at Bentley University, and a research fellow at the Independent Institute. As a returning guest to the podcast, Scott joins Macro Musings to give his latest thoughts on the COVID-19 crisis and its implications for monetary policy. Specifically, David and Scott discuss how the Fed can conduct more aggressive monetary policy, what a level targeting regime should look like in the future, and the current progression toward negative interest rates.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Scott’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/scott-sumner Scott’s blog: https://www.themoneyillusion.com/   Related Links:   Scott's bonus segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8DXU_1oIsg&feature=youtu.be   *Reforming the Fed’s Toolkit and Quantitative Easing Practices: A Plan to Achieve Level Targeting* by Scott Sumner and Patrick Horan https://www.mercatus.org/publications/covid-19-policy-brief-series/reforming-feds-toolkit-and-quantitative-easing-practices   *Negative Interest Rates and Negative IOER* by Scott Sumner https://www.econlib.org/negative-interest-rates-and-negative-ioer/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Lev Menand is a legal scholar at Columbia Law School and has previously worked for the New York Fed, the US Treasury Department, and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Lev Joins Macro Musings to talk about his new paper, *Unappropriated Dollars: The Fed’s Ad Hoc Lending Facilities and the Rules that Govern Them*. Specifically, David and Lev discuss opening up public Fed bank accounts, the importance of liquidity and credit facilities, and how Congress is using the CARES Act to skirt the Fed’s current legal mandates.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Lev’s Twitter: @LevMenand Lev’s Columbia Law profile: https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/lev-menand   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Lev: https://youtu.be/N9qndjjju9A   *Unappropriated Dollars: The Fed’s Ad Hoc Lending Facilities and the Rules That Govern Them* by Lev Menand https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3602740   *FedAccounts* by Morgan Ricks, John Crawford, and Lev Menand https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3192162   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Martin Hellwig is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, and he joins Macro Musings to talk about the Eurozone and the implications of the recent German Constitutional Court (GCC) ruling for the future of the monetary union. David and Martin specifically discuss the background of the perceived Eurozone crisis, the power struggle between the GCC and the European Court of Justice, and how this case may lead to a total breakdown of the Eurozone.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Martin’s MPI profile: https://www.coll.mpg.de/martin-hellwig   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Martin: https://youtu.be/1POrO_8VcM0   *The Leverage Ratchet Effect* by Anat Admati, Peter DeMarzo, Martin Hellwig and Paul Pfleiderer https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/leverage-ratchet-effect   *German Court Has Set a Bomb Under the EU Legal Order* by Martin Sandbu https://www.ft.com/content/79484c01-b66b-4f81-bdc6-fd4def940821   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Nathan Tankus is the director of research at the Modern Money Network, and a research fellow at the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. Nathan is also the author of a number of articles on the Fed's recent activity at his Substack page titled “Notes on the Crises.” Nathan joins Macro Musings to talk about the post-Keynesian view of money, central bank independence, and the consolidated view of public finance, as well as evaluate the policy responses by the Fed and Congress to COVID-19.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Nathan’s Twitter: @NathanTankus Nathan’s Substack page: https://nathantankus.substack.com/   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Nathan: https://youtu.be/VPl0LYgttYI   *Monetary, Credit, and Fiscal Policies: A Collection of Statements Submitted to the Subcommittee on Monetary, Credit, and Fiscal Policies by Government Officials, Bankers, Economists, and Others (specifically a comment made by Albert G. Hart) by the Joint Committee on the Economic Report https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/historical/congressional/1949jec_mcfpstate.pdf#page=332   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Anat Admati is a professor of finance and economics at Stanford University, and is well-known for her work on leveraging debt in our financial system and how it makes our economy more susceptible to shocks. She’s also a co-author of the popular book, *The Banker’s New Clothes: What Went Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It*. Anat joins Macro Musings again to talk about the COVID-19 crisis from the debt perspective, how the Fed and Congress have responded so far, and how their relief efforts should have been focused differently.      The transcript for the episode can be found here.   Anat’s Twitter: @anatadmati Anat’s website: https://admati.people.stanford.edu/   Related Links:   Bonus segment with Anat: https://youtu.be/4xHmmgoURqg   *The Banker’s New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It* by Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691162386/the-bankers-new-clothes   *The Leverage Ratchet Effect* by Anat Admati, Peter DeMarzo, Martin Hellwig, and Paul Pfleiderer https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jofi.12588   *Macrofinancial History and the New Business Cycle Facts* by Oscar Jorda, Mortiz Schularick, and Alan Taylor https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/wp2016-23.pdf   *Coronavirus Crisis Lays Bare the Risks of Financial Leverage, Again” by Martin Wolf https://www.ft.com/content/098dcd60-8880-11ea-a01c-a28a3e3fbd33   *House of Debt: How They (And You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again* by Atif Mian and Amir Sufi https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo20832545.html   *Collateral Frameworks: The Open Secret of Central Banks* by Kjell Nyborg https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/collateral-frameworks/DE8BACD87F364A66DD496F601BE92FE7   *Bankruptcy for Banks: A Sound Concept That Needs Fine-Tuning* by Mark Roe and David Skeel https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/business/dealbook/bankruptcy-for-banks-a-sound-concept-that-needs-fine-tuning.html   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth