Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Ryan Avent is an economics columnist with The Economist magazine and is a previous guest of Macro Musings. He joins the show today to talk about some of his recent columns including work on hyperinflation, the Green New Deal, and Fed policy. David and Ryan also discuss the growing popularity of Modern Monetary Theory, the Fed’s dovish change in direction, and why hyperinflation is so devastating to a nation’s economy.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/03112019/hyperinflation-and-mmt   Ryan’s Twitter: @ryanavent Ryan’s Economist profile: http://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/ryan-avent/   Related Links:   *Hyperinflations Can End Quickly, Given the Right Sort of Regime Change* by Ryan Avent https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/01/31/hyperinflations-can-end-quickly-given-the-right-sort-of-regime-change   *Taking the Fed at its Word: Direct Estimation of Central Bank Objectives using Text Analytics* by Adam Shapiro & Daniel Wilson https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/wp2019-02.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Michael Strain is the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Previously, Michael worked in the Center for Economic Studies at the U.S. Census Bureau and in the Macroeconomics Research Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He joins the show today to talk about recent developments in U.S. economic policy and some of his work on that topic. David and Michael also discuss the consequences of rising populism, MMT’s impact on tax policy, and the issues Americans should be most worried about.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/03042019/populism-mmt-and-billionaires   Michael’s Twitter: @MichaelRStrain Michael’s AEI profile: https://www.aei.org/scholar/michael-r-strain/   Related Links:   *Economic Shocks and Clinging* by Michael Strain and Stan Veuger https://ideas.repec.org/p/aei/rpaper/1004842.html   *Wealth Inequality in the United States Since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data* by Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman https://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/SaezZucman2014.pdf   *Going to Extremes, Politics After Financial Crisis: 1870-2014* by Manuel Funke, Moritz Schularick, and Christoph Trebesch https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2688897   *Modern Monetary Theory is a Joke That’s Not Funny* by Michael Strain https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-17/modern-monetary-theory-would-sink-u-s-in-debt   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth  

George Selgin is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia, and a returning guest to show.  For this special live episode, George joins Macro Musings to talk about his new book, *Floored: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession.* David and George also discuss the liquidity coverage ratio, the Fed’s transition from a corridor to a floor system, and the arguments for and against such an operating system.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02252019/floors-and-corridors   George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin   Related Links:   *The Fed Marches On* by George Selgin https://www.alt-m.org/2019/01/31/the-fed-marches-on/   *Balance Sheet News* blog post by Stephen Williamson http://newmonetarism.blogspot.com/2019/02/balance-sheet-news_21.html   David Beckworth’s Twitter thread on the Fed’s decision to stick with a floor system: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth/status/1098956723501576192   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Peter Stella is the managing director of Stellar Consulting and was formerly an IMF official where he led the central banking and monetary and foreign exchange divisions. Peter has researched and written extensively on safe assets, collateral, and central banking operations, and he joins the show today to discuss this work.  David and Peter also discuss the Fed’s large scale asset purchases, money and payment systems in advanced economies, and why the U.S. Treasury should start issuing bills to the Fed.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02182019/peter-stella-debt-safe-assets-and-central-bank-operations   Peter’s Voxeu profile: https://voxeu.org/users/peterstella0 Peter’s Research Gate archive: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Stella   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Rohan Grey is a legal scholar and the research director of the Digital Fiat Currency Institute. He joins the show today to make the case for digital legal tender. David and Rohan also discuss privacy issues related to digital currency, getting the public onboard with a digital currency proposal, modern monetary theory, and how it is different than mainstream economics.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02112019/future-digital-fiat-currency    Rohan’s Twitter: @rohangrey Rohan’s Cornell profile: https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/degrees/graduate-legal-studies/JSD-Student-Profiles-Rohan-Grey.cfm   Related Links:   *Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Monetary Policy* by Michael Bordo and Andrew Levin https://www.nber.org/papers/w23711   *Winds of Change: The Case for New Digital Currency* by Christine Lagarde https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/11/13/sp111418-winds-of-change-the-case-for-new-digital-currency   *The Case for Digital Legal Tender: The Macroeconomic Policy Implications of Digital Fiat Currency* by Rohan Grey and Jonathan Dharmapalan https://www.ecurrency.net/static/resources/201802/TheMacroeconomicImplicationsOfDigitalFiatCurrencyEVersion.pdf   *Banking in a Digital Fiat Currency Regime* by Rohan Grey https://custom.cvent.com/20310C03166C4C11B1AA63B0D6300264/files/Event/6230e8320cad4d97a45b8dcdc6c44200/aaeeabdc5cee41f5a8ad0a7e869faed8.pdf   *Mobile Finance in Developing Countries: Macroeconomic Implications and Potential* by Rohan Grey http://www.binzagr-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WP-116.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Donald Kohn is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and currently serves as an external member of the Financial Policy Committee at the Bank of England. Donald is also a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System, serving previously as a governor and then as vice-chair of the Board of Governors from 2002 to 2010. He joins the show today to talk about his journey through the Federal Reserve System in addition to some of his recent work. David and Donald also discuss Fed policy during the ‘80s, expanding the types of assets the Fed could purchase, and the challenges it faces today.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02012019/burns-powell   Donald’s Brookings profile: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/donald-kohn/ Donald’s Federal Reserve History biography: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/people/donald_l_kohn   Related Links:   *The Anguish of Central Banking* by Arthur Burns http://www.perjacobsson.org/lectures/1979.pdf   *Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country* by William Greider https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Secrets-of-the-Temple/William-Greider/9780671675561   *Keeping At It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government* by Paul Volcker https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/paul-volcker/keeping-at-it/9781541788299/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Kevin Erdmann is an independent researcher and blogger at Idiosyncratic Whisk, where he explores economic and financial topics such as housing, investment, and speculation. He is also the author of an upcoming book titled, *Shut Out: How a Housing Shortage Caused the Great Recession and Crippled Our Economy*, and he joins the show today to discuss it. David and Kevin also break down the housing shortage problem, as they explore how the limited supply of housing in close access cities may have helped fuel the Great Recession.   NOTE: Although stated in the episode, Kevin's book was renamed to Shut Out. Locked Out was simply the working title at the time of the recording.   Link to the book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538122150/Shut-Out-How-a-Housing-Shortage-Caused-the-Great-Recession-and-Crippled-Our-Economy Discount code: 4S18MERC30   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01282019/were-we-all-wrong-about-great-recession   Kevin’s Twitter: @KAErdmann Kevin’s blog: http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/   Related Links:   *A Slide Deck on the Bubble and Crisis* by Kevin Erdmann http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/p/a-slide-deck-on-bubble-and-crisis.html   *Housing: Part 238 – Home Price Changes Over Time* by Kevin Erdmann http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/2017/06/housing-part-238-home-price-changes.html   *Why Do Cities Matter? Local Growth and Aggregate Growth* by Enrico Moretti & Chang-Tai Hsieh https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=housing_law_and_policy   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and was previously the deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department and senior trade economist in the White House. Christine is a returning guest to Macro Musings and joins the show today to talk about recent trade developments. David and Christine also discuss the details of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, how Brexit affects trade issues in Europe, and the possibility of blowback from Trump’s trade policies.   Transcript for episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01212019/china-usmca-uk-and-more   Christine’s Twitter: @christinemcdan Christine’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/christine-mcdaniel   Related Links:   “Tariff man”: https://imgur.com/a/fcBuvKy   *A Weakened China Tries a Different Approach With the U.S.: Treading Lightly* by Keith Bradsher, Alan Rappeport and Glenn Thrush https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/china-trade-war.html   *Scholars Respond: New Trade Deal with Mexico, Canada* by Christine McDaniel and Daniel Griswold https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/scholars-respond-new-trade-deal-mexico-canada   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Craig Torres is a reporter for Bloomberg News where has earned several rewards for his reporting on Fed policy. Previously, Craig also served as the chief of the Wall Street Journal’s Mexico City bureau, where his work on the collapse of the peso in the mid 90’s made him a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. He joins the show today to discuss some the stories he has written while reporting on the Fed and the economy. David and Craig also discuss the Fed’s increase in transparency under Jay Powell, the current state of U.S. monetary policy, and effects of automation on demographics and the economy.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01112019/war-stories-fed   Craig’s Twitter: @ctorresreporter Craig’s Bloomberg archive: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AElDlyQuDPM/craig-torres   Related Links:   *New Blue-Collar Jobs Will Survive the Rise of AI* by Craig Torres https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-01/new-blue-collar-jobs-will-survive-the-rise-of-ai   *Housing and Monetary Policy* by John Taylor https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/83de/849c0eaaa1eaa720427e1e1ac0c4782bf693.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Julia Coronado is the president and founder of Macro Policy Perspectives, a Wall Street research firm. Previously, she was a chief economist for Graham Capital Management and a senior economist at BNP Paribas. Julia also served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for over a decade, and she joins the show today to talk about the Fed’s latest rate hikes and other recent economic developments. David and Julia also discuss the Fed’s recent financial stability report, why inflation has been persistently low, and ways to improve communications between the Fed and the market.   Julia’s Twitter: @jc_econ Julia’s Macropolicy Perspectives profile: https://www.macropolicyperspectives.com/about/   Related Links:    Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01072019/micro-foundations-macro-questions(link forthcoming)   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth