Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Hosted by David Beckworth of the Mercatus Center, Macro Musings is a podcast which pulls back the curtain on the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future. read less

David Wilcox on the Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Crippling Costs of Default
Feb 20 2023
David Wilcox on the Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Crippling Costs of Default
David Wilcox is a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and is the Director of Economic Research at Bloomberg Economics. Previously, David served for many years on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board, as deputy director from 2001 to 2011 and as director from 2011 to 2018 of the Division of Research and Statistics. In the latter role, he functioned as the chief economist of the division, a senior advisor to three successive chairs of the board, and the division leader for strategic direction as well as chief manager. David joins Macro Musings to talk about a recent article he wrote titled, *The Cost of the US Going Over the Fiscal Cliff is Trauma, Then Unending Pain.* David and David also discuss the debt ceiling issue more broadly, including the severity and timing of a technical default, the two big economic shocks that would result from a default, the possible solutions to pursue in the face of the this debacle, and more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   David Wilcox’s Twitter: @D_W_Wilcox David Wilcox’s PIIE profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here!   Related Links:   *The Cost of US Going Over Fiscal Cliff Is Trauma Then Unending Pain* by David Wilcox   *Fiscal Policy Under Low Interest Rates* by Olivier Blanchard   *Mint the Coin? Buy Back Bonds? 7 ‘Gimmicks’ for Dodging the Debt Limit* by Jeff Stein
Macro Lit Review 3: Highlights from Early 2023 with George Selgin
Feb 6 2023
Macro Lit Review 3: Highlights from Early 2023 with George Selgin
George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. George is also a frequent guest on Macro Musings and he rejoins the podcast to talk about some recent developments in the monetary and fiscal policy space. Specifically, David and George discuss new narratives around shadow banking and the financial crisis, the fiscal cost of large central bank balance sheets, the return of secular stagnation, and a lot more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Cato profile   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here!   Related Links:   *A Monetary Policy Primer: Parts 1-12* by George Selgin   *Why Shadow Banking Didn’t Cause the Financial Crisis* by Norbert Michel   *The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet: Costs to Taxpayers of Quantitative Easing* by Andy Levin and Bill Nelson   *The Monetary Executive* by Christina Parajon Skinner   *Secular Stagnation is Not Over* by Olivier Blanchard   *The Hard Road to a Soft Landing: Evidence from a (Modestly) Nonlinear Structural Model* by Randal Verbrugge and Saeed Zaman   *Brazil and Argentina to Start Preparations for a Common Currency* by Michael Stott and Lucinda Elliott   *Floor Systems for Implementing Monetary Policy: Some Unpleasant Fiscal Arithmetic* by Aleksander Berentsen, Christopher Waller, and Alessandro Marchesiani   *Fallen Heroes: Central Banks Face Credibility Crisis as Losses Pile Up* by Johanna Treeck   *SNB Will Shrink Balance Sheet After Record Loss, Citigroup Says* by Bastian Benrath   *George Selgin on False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery* by Macro Musings
John Roberts on Macroeconomic Modeling at the Fed, Makeup Policy, and the Future of FAIT
Jan 23 2023
John Roberts on Macroeconomic Modeling at the Fed, Makeup Policy, and the Future of FAIT
John Roberts is a 36-year veteran of the Federal Reserve Board and mostly recently was the Deputy Associate Director in the Division of Research and Statistics, overseeing the board’s domestic macroeconomic modeling efforts. From 2017-2019, John also served as a special advisor to Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, where his responsibilities includes preparation of speeches, providing advice on monetary policy, macroeconomic forecasting, and regulatory attending FOMC meetings. John joins Macro Musings to talk about his time at the Fed, macroeconomic modeling at the institution, his work on the zero lower bound, and current Fed policy. Specifically, David and John also discuss the art of interpreting the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections, the future of modeling for policymakers at the Fed, the state of FAIT at the central bank, and a lot more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   John’s blog John’s paper archive   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here!   Related Links:   *Monetary Policy in a Low Interest Rate World* by Michael Kiley and John Roberts   *Monetary Policy Strategies for a Low-Rate Environment* by Ben Bernanke, Michael Kiley, and John Roberts   *Unconventional Monetary Policy According to HANK* by Eric Sims, Jing Cynthia Wu, & Ji Zhang
Heather Long, Ryan Avent, and Cardiff Garcia on Pandemic Reflections and Economic Predictions for the Future
Dec 26 2022
Heather Long, Ryan Avent, and Cardiff Garcia on Pandemic Reflections and Economic Predictions for the Future
For this special end of the year edition of Macro Musings, Heather Long, Ryan Avent, and Cardiff Garcia rejoin the podcast to reflect on the biggest economic surprises and stories of the past few years, while giving their outlook and predictions for the future. Heather Long is an editorial writer and columnist for the Washington Post, Ryan Avent is the trade and international economic editor for the Economist Magazine, and Cardiff Garcia is a veteran journalist for the Financial Times and NPR as well as the host of the New Bazaar podcast and the co-founder of Bazaar Audio. Specifically, this returning panel of guests discuss the major economic themes throughout the pandemic, the most overrated and underreported stories that have dominated the headlines over the past few years, what issues are primed for prominence within the next decade, and a lot more.     Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Support the podcast by making a donation during this holiday season!   Heather’s Washington Post profile Heather’s Twitter: @byHeatherLong   Ryan’s Economist profile Ryan’s Twitter: @ryanavent   Cardiff’s Twitter: @CardiffGarcia Bazaar Audio’s website   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here!   Related Links:   *Measuring Monetary Policy: the NGDP Gap* by David Beckworth   *Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China* by Hal Brands and Michael Beckley   *David Beckworth on the Facts, Fears, and Functionality of NGDP Level Targeting* by the Macro Musings Podcast   *Ryan Avent, Cardiff Garcia, and Heather Long on Lessons from the Great Recession* by the Macro Musings Podcast
Joe Gagnon on *25 Years of Excess Unemployment* and the Phillips Curve Debate
Dec 12 2022
Joe Gagnon on *25 Years of Excess Unemployment* and the Phillips Curve Debate
Joe Gagnon is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and was formerly a senior staffer at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Joe is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to take a look back on the past few years and to discuss his new paper on excess unemployment over the past 25 years. Specifically, David and Joe also discuss the movement of the natural rate of unemployment over time, alternative explanations for the flattening of the Phillips curve, policy implications for the Fed moving forward, and more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Support the podcast by making a donation during this holiday season!   Joe’s PIIE profile Joe’s Twitter: @GagnonMacro   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here!   Related Links:   *25 Years of Excess Unemployment in Advanced Economies: Lessons for Monetary Policy* by Joseph Gagnon and Madi Sarsenbayev   *Economists are Slightly Better at Predicting Inflation Than Consumers* by Joseph Gagnon and Madi Sarsenbayev   *Who are the Better Forecasters of Inflation, Bond Traders or Economists?* by Joseph Gagnon and Madi Sarsenbayev   *The Slope of the Phillips Curve: Evidence form U.S. States* by Jonathon Hazell, Juan Herreno, Emi Nakamura, and Jon Steinsson   *The Macroeconomics of Low Inflation* by George Akerlof, William Dickens, and George Perry   *Measuring Monetary Policy: the NGDP Gap* by David Beckworth
Patrick Horan and David Beckworth on *The Fate of FAIT* and the Future of the Fed’s Monetary Framework
Nov 21 2022
Patrick Horan and David Beckworth on *The Fate of FAIT* and the Future of the Fed’s Monetary Framework
In this special episode of Macro Musings, David Beckworth and Patrick Horan join guest host Carola Binder to discuss their newest paper, *The Fate of FAIT: Salvaging the Fed’s Framework.* Patrick Horan is a research fellow in the Mercatus Center’s Monetary Policy Program and Carola Binder is an associate professor of economics at Haverford College as well as a visiting scholar at the Mercatus Center. In addition to their paper, Pat and David also talk about the basics of flexible average inflation targeting, how it compares to temporary price level targeting, the differences between the Fed’s old and new frameworks, and a lot more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Check out our new Macro Musings merch here, and use the promo code NGDP for 10% off!   Patrick’s Twitter: @Pat_Horan92 Patrick’s Mercatus profile   Carola’s Twitter: @cconces Carola’s Haverford site Carola’s Mercatus profile   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox!   Related Links:   *The Fate of FAIT: Salvaging the Fed’s Framework* by David Beckworth and Patrick Horan   *2020 Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy* by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors   *Fed Framework Holds Central Bank Hostage* by Mohamed El-Erian   *Nominal GDP Targeting and the Taylor Rule on an Even Playing Field* by David Beckworth and Josh Hendrickson