Macro Musings

Lev Menand is an associate professor of law at Columbia University and Josh Younger is a senior policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a lecturer at Columbia Law School. Lev and Josh also recently co-authored a paper titled, *Money and the Public Debt: Treasury Market Liquidity as a Legal Phenomenon.* They are also returning guests to Macro Musings, and rejoin the podcast to talk about this paper and its implications for the Treasury market. Lev, Josh, and David also discuss the transition from bank to market financing, whether an increasing level of debt is leading to more instability, the impact of recent regulations on the primary dealer system, how to restore the balance between public debt and money creation, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Josh’s Columbia Law profile Lev’s Columbia Law profile Lev’s Twitter: @LevMenand   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_

Thomas Hoenig is a distinguished senior fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he focuses on the long-term impacts of the politicization of financial services as well as the effects of government-granted privileges and market performance. He was formerly the vice chair of the FDIC from 2012 to 2018 and the 20 years prior to that, he was president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Tom is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins to talk about the Treasury market, public debt sustainability issues, and the state of banking in the United States. David and Tom also discuss the history of Tom’s influence on the Jackson Hole Conference, the growing size of the US current account deficit, the Fed’s role as the primary Treasury market backstop, the dangers of risk-weighted capital regulation, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Thomas’s Twitter: @tom_hoenig Thomas’s Mercatus profile   Da

Robert McCauley is a senior fellow at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, an Associate Member of the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford, and was formerly at the Bank of International Settlements for 25 years and the New York Federal Reserve Bank for 14 years. Robert is also a returning guest to the show, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his recent article titled, *Bond Market Crisis and the International Lender of Last Resort* David and Robert also discuss the basics of a bond market run, the policy reaction and implications of the 2020 “Dash for Cash”, the possible concerns with corporate bond facilities, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Robert’s Boston University profile Robert’s BIS archive   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Bon

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 Macro Musings, and he rejoins the podcast to talk about Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Specifically, Joe and David talk about the future direction of r star, what current inflationary trends mean for the Phillips curve, the Fed’s commitment to a two percent inflation target, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Register now for the Bennett McCallum Monetary Policy Conference!   Joe’s Twitter: @GagnonMacro Joe’s PIIE profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Low Inflation Bends the Phillips Curve Around the World* by Joe Gagnon, Kristin Forbes, and Christopher Collins   *Fed Chair Powell’s Message in Jackson Hol

Nicholas Anthony is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and works on issues relating to financial privacy, cryptocurrencies, and the use of money in society. Nicholas joins Macro Musings to talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the recent developments surrounding CBDCs at the Fed and in Congress. Specifically, David and Nicholas discuss the arguments for and against CBDCs, the preemptive, behavioral, and punitive applications of these currencies, who would benefit from the development of CBDCs, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Nicholas’s Twitter @EconWithNick Nicholas’s Cato Institute profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths* by Nicholas Anthony and Norbert Michel   *CBDC Legislation Recap* by Nich

John Coates is a professor of law and economics and the deputy dean of the Harvard Law School. John is also the author of a new book titled, *The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything,* and he joins Macro Musings to talk about it. David and John also discuss the basics and beginnings of index funds, how they may undermine capitalism, the issues with private equity, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   John’s Harvard Law School profile John’s publications archive   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything* by John Coates   *House Republicans Probe BlackRock, Vanguard on Their ESG Policies* by Steven Dennis   *BlackRock Offers a Vote to Retail Investors in its Biggest ETF* by Brooke Masters

Zac Gross is a senior lecturer at Monash University and was formerly an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Zac joins Macro Musings to talk about the Australian central bank and the recent review of its framework. Specifically, David and Zac also break down Australian monetary policy over the past few decades, the RBA’s yield curve control experiment, the future of its operating system, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Zac’s Twitter: @ZacGross Zac’s website Zac’s Substack   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Assessing Australian Monetary Policy in the Twenty-First Century* By Isaac Gross and Andrew Leigh   *An RBA Fit for the Future* by Gordon de Brouwer, Renee Fry-McKibbin, and Carolyn Wilkins

Larry White is a professor of economics at George Mason University and is the author of a new book titled, *Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?* Larry is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins the podcast to discuss this book and the comparison among those monetary standards. David and Larry specifically discuss the bottom-up vs. top-down theories of money, the basics and functionality of a gold, bitcoin, and fiat standards, the future of money, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Larry’s Twitter: @lawrencehwhite1 Larry’s Mercatus profile Larry’s GMU profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?* by Lawrence White   *Larry White on Stablecoins, Money Market Funds, and the History of Free Banking* by Macro Musings

Ricardo Reis is a professor of economics at the London School of Economics and is the co-author of a new book titled, *A Crash Course on Crises: Macroeconomic Concepts for Run-ups, Collapses, and Recoveries.* Ricardo is also a previous guest of Macro Musings and he rejoins the podcast to talk about his new book as well as his overall assessment of the inflation surge of the past few years. David and Ricardo specifically discuss what constitutes a bubble, the Eurozone crisis as a story of capital inflows and misallocation, shadow banking and systemic risk during the 2008 financial crisis, Ricardo’s view of the Phillips curve, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Ricardo’s Twitter: @R2Rsquared Ricardo’s LSE profile Ricardo’s website   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   *A Crash Course on Crises: Macroeconomic Concepts for Run-Ups, Collapses, and Recoveries* by Ricardo

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 of the recent developments in the monetary and financial policy space. Specifically, David and George discuss the history and present developments surrounding FedNow, the future of real-time payments, how to revise the Fed’s operating system, whether the Fed is currently delivering on a soft landing, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George Cato Institute profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *George Selgin on False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery* by Macro Musings   *Getting Up From the Floor* by Claudio Borio   *Opening a Federal Reserve Account* by Julie Hill   *Fro

Bryan Cutsinger is an assistant professor of economics at Angelo State University and Louis Rouanet is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas, El Paso. Bryan and Louis join Macro Musings to talk about the French Revolution, France’s public finances, its bout with hyperinflation, and finally, the implications of this experience for macroeconomic theory today. Specifically, David, Bryan and Louis also discuss the creation and widespread dissemination of assignats, the emergence guillotine-backed currency in France, the state vs. market theories of money, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Bryan’s Twitter: @BryanPCutsinger Bryan’s website Bryan’s ASU profile   Louis’s Twitter: @LouisROUANET Louis’s website   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Assignats or Death: The Politics and Dynamics of Hyperinflation in Revolutionary Fra

Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania and is the co-director of the Business, Economic, and Financial History Project at the Wharton School of Business. Jesus is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about recent macroeconomic developments, the demographic issues facing the world, and AI’s implications for economic growth. Specifically, David and Jesus also discuss whether we needed the fiscal and monetary stimulus of 2021, the European inflation story, South Korea as a case study for global demographic trends, how quantum computing will may impact macroeconomics in the future, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Jesus’s UPenn profile Jesus’s NBER archive   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Demographic Future of Humanity: The Trends* by Jesus Fernandez-Villave

Chris Conlon is an associate professor of economics at the NYU Stern School of Business where he focuses on industrial organization economics and econometrics. Chris joins David on Macro Musings to help shed light on the 2021-2023 inflation surge from the perspective of an IO economist. Specifically, David and Chris discuss the great markup debate within IO economics, the shaky foundation of greedflation, the cost anticipation story of higher prices, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Chris’s Twitter: @conlon_chris Chris’s website Chris’s NYU profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Rising Markups, Rising Prices?* by Chris Conlon, Nathan Miller, Tsolmon Otgon, and Yi Yao   Chris’s Twitter thread on the recent inflationary episode   *The Rise of Market Power and the Macroeconomics Implications* by Jan De Loecker, Jan Eeckhout, and Gabriel Unger  

Tim Lee is an independent journalist who formerly worked for the Washington Post, Vox, and Ars Technica, where he covered tech policy, blockchain issues, the future of transportation, and the economy. Tim currently produces the newsletter, Understanding AI, and is also a returning guest to Macro Musings. He rejoins the podcast to talk about AI, automation, and its implications for the macroeconomy and policy. Specifically, David and Tim also discuss the singularism vs physicalism debate, the possible threats posed by AI, how the regulatory landscape will be affected by AI, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Tim’s Twitter: @binarybits Tim’s newsletter: Understanding AI   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!                                                       Related Links:   *The AI Safety Debate is Focusing on the Wrong Threats* by Tim Lee   *Congress Shouldn’t R

Steven Kamin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and previously was the director of the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board. Steve joins David on Macro Musings to talk about the US dollar and its implications for policy and the economy. Specifically, David and Steven discuss the effects of Fed policy on emerging markets, the factors that are driving a higher global equilibrium real interest rate, how to reconcile the domestic and international impacts of Fed policy, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Steven’s Twitter: @steven_kamin Steven’s AEI profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Will the Strong Dollar Trigger a Global Recession?* by Steven Kamin   *How Do Rising US Interest Rates Affect Emerging and Developing Economies? It Depends* by Steven Kamin, Carlos Arteta, and Franz Ulrich   *Are Highe

Chris Hughes is a senior fellow at the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School, and he is also the co-founder of the Economic Security Project and a senior advisor at the Roosevelt Institute. Previously, he was also the publisher of The New Republic and is a co-founder of Facebook. Chris joins Macro Musings to talk about his work on Arthur Burns’ tenure as Fed Chair and the lessons we can learn from it as applied to today’s inflation experience. Specifically, David and Chris also discuss Arthur Burns’ view of the economy and inflation, how his perspective on business psychology impacted these views, Burns’ view of fiscal and industrial policy as a tool for combating inflation, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Chris’s Twitter: @chrishughes Chris’s website   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Rethinking Arthur Bruns, the

Peter Stella is the former head of the IMF’s Central Banking Division and has researched and written extensively on safe assets, collateral, and central bank operations. He now hosts the website, Central Banking Archaeology and continues to consult with the IMF on central bank balance sheet issues. Peter is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about the quasi-fiscal implications of central bank crisis intervention over the past few years. David and Peter also discuss the losses on the Fed’s balance sheet, using market value versus the par value of debt, the Fed’s debt management issues with mortgage backed securities, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Peter’s Twitter: @Stellar_Consult Peter’s website   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Quasi-Fiscal Implications of Central Bank Crisis Interventions: Case Studies*

Christina Skinner is a legal scholar at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and was formerly legal counsel to the Bank of England. Christina is also a returning guest to the podcast, and she rejoins Macro Musings to talk about central bank digital currency and its legal implications for the state, individuals, and the Fed itself. David and Christina also discuss recent developments in CBDC policy rhetoric, the privacy issues surrounding CBDC, the potential interest bearing nature of CBDC, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode   Christina’s Twitter: @CParaSkinner Christina’s Wharton profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Central Bank Digital Currency as New Public Money* by Christina Parajon Skinner   *A New Coin of the Realm? Central Bank Digital Currency as New Public Money* by Christina Parajon Skinner (coming soon)

Gianluca Benigno is a professor of economics at the University of Lausanne and was formerly a senior staffer and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, an economist at the Bank of England, and worked at the London School of Economics. Gianluca joins Macro Musings to talk about financial conditions in r**, his work on *The Dollar’s Imperial Circle,* and more. David and Gianluca also discuss the importance of liquidity in a New Keynesian framework, the origins and purpose of the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, the “Global Financial Resource Curse,” and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode   Gianluca’s Twitter: @BenignoGianluca Gianluca’s website   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *The Dollar’s Imperial Circle* by Gianluca Benigno, Ozge Akinci, Serra Pelin, and Jon Turek   *The Financial (In)Stability Real Interest Rate, R*** by Gianluca Beni

Dan McDowell is an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, and he is the author of a new book titled, *Bucking the Buck: US Financial Sanctions and the International Backlash Against the Dollar.* Dan joins Macro Musings to talk about this new book and the prospects for de-dollarization around the world. David and Dan also discuss the mechanics and effectiveness of financial sanctions, the renminbi as a rival to the dollar, Russia and Turkey as case studies, and more.   Transcript for this week’s episode   Dan’s Twitter: @daniel_mcdowell Dan’s website Dan’s Syracuse University profile   David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch!   Related Links:   *Bucking the Buck: US Financial Sanctions and the International Backlash against the Dollar* by Dan McDowell   *What’s Driving Dollar Doomsaying?* by Paul Krugman   *Renminbi’s Share of Trade Finance Doubles Since Start of Uk