Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Matthew Raskin, US head of rates research at Deutsche Bank and former senior staff member of the Federal Reserve System, joins David on Macro Musings to talk about interest rates, QE, QT, and the Fed’s balance sheet. They also discuss improving liquidity and stability in the Treasury market, the challenges in the Treasury market, and potential changes to the Federal Reserve’s policy framework.

David Papell, Professor of economics at the University of Houston, discusses the origins and current applications of monetary policy rules. They explore the incorporation of new frameworks into the Taylor rule, the Federal Reserve's perspective on interest rates, the popularity of the Taylor rule, the influence of John Taylor, the importance of real-time data, different measures of the output gap, and inertial and non-inertial rules in monetary policy.

Rachel Siegel, a reporter for the Washington Post covering the Federal Reserve and domestic economy, discusses the Fed's handling of physical cash, the vulnerable state of the commercial real estate market, potential issues for voters in the 2024 election, and more.

Will Bateman, associate professor and associate dean of research at the Australian University College of Law, discusses his paper 'The Fiscal Fed' which examines the Fed's fiscal functions during major historical events. Topics include the Fed's role in war financing, the US dollar as a reserve currency, the history of yield curve control, and the possibility of turning the paper into a book.

PJ Glandon, associate professor of economics at Kenyon College, discusses the state of macroeconomics in terms of research and pedagogy. They talk about selecting journals for their study, the use of VARs and mathematics in macroeconomics, types of articles and data, analyzing citations, teaching macroeconomics at the undergraduate level, and the usefulness of the ISLM model in understanding the economy.

Ed Nelson, former student and co-author of Bennett McCallum, joins David to discuss McCallum's life, work, and legacy in monetary economics. They cover topics such as McCallum's contributions to the rational expectations revolution, his views on nominal GDP targeting, and his perspective on monetary policy. Nelson also shares a story about McCallum's expressive nature during conversations and presentations.

Sam Hammond, senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, talks about AI, techno-feudalism, and the future of the state. They discuss the current AI environment, potential obsolescence of federal agencies, impact of AI on government structures, and personal branding in the future. They also explore the rise of AI-generated content in entertainment and the establishment of a techno-feudalistic state by 2040.

Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, discusses the challenges and structures of the US government budget. Topics include government shutdowns, inflationary episodes, and reform strategies for Medicare and Social Security.

Lev Menand, associate professor of law, and Josh Younger, senior policy advisor, discuss their paper on Treasury market liquidity as a legal phenomenon. They cover the transition from bank to market financing, the impact of increasing debt on instability, recent regulations on the primary dealer system, and restoring balance between public debt and money creation.

Thomas Hoenig, former vice chair of the FDIC, discusses public debt sustainability, the US banking system, and more. Topics include the Treasury market, US current accounts deficit, Fed's role as Treasury Market backstop, risk-weighted capital regulation, and challenges in selling Treasury debt.