Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Business EN ↓ 557 episodes

Hosted by David Beckworth of the Mercatus Center, Macro Musings pulls back the curtain on the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future.

Author

Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Category

Business

Latest episode

Jul 6, 2026

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Episodes

Jim Dorn on the History of Monetary Policy in Washington D.C. and its Future 30.09.2019

Jim Dorn is the Vice President for Monetary Studies at the Cato Institute and is the director of Cato's annual Monetary Policy Conference. Jim has written widely on Federal Reserve policy and monetary reform, and has also edited more than 10 books including *The Search for Stable Money* and *The Future of Money in the Information Age*.  He joins the show today to talk about the history of monetary...

Gregg Gelzinis on Reforming FSOC and How to Limit Future Financial Crises 23.09.2019

Gregg Gelzinis is a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress where he focuses his work on financial institutions, financial markets, consumer finance policy, and financial regulation more broadly, and he joins the show today to talk about these issues. David and Gregg also discuss the Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC) inception, the tradeoffs between financial regulation and...

Soumaya Keynes on Trade, Dollar Dominance, and the Highlights of Jackson Hole 16.09.2019

Soumaya Keynes is the US economics editor for The Economist magazine, and she is also the co-host of *Trade Talks*, a podcast on all things trade, including trade policy, trade wars, and the future of trade. Soumaya joins the show today to talk about the general topic of trade, but also some other recent economic developments. David and Soumaya also discuss dollar dominance, the effects of trade p...

Alex Tabarrok on the Elements of Economic Growth and the Decline of Dynamism 09.09.2019

Alex Tabarrok is a professor of economics at George Mason University and holds the Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center. Alex has written widely on long run economic growth and joins the show today to talk about it. David and Alex also discuss how capital relates to economic growth, the impact of regulation on dynamism, and the important distinction between "catch-up" and "c...

Judge Glock on the Riefler-Keynes Doctrine and Monetary Policy During the Great Depression 02.09.2019

Judge Glock is an economic historian and a scholar at the Cicero Institute in San Francisco. Judge's research is focused on the Great Depression, and he has recently published a paper on an important idea shaping Federal Reserve policy during this time; the Riefler-Keynes Doctrine.  He joins the show today to talk about this paper and the Great Depression.  David and Judge also discuss the key ide...

Thomas Hoenig on the Federal Reserve and the State of Banking in the US 26.08.2019

Thomas Hoenig was vice-chair of the FDIC from 2012-2018 and in the 20 years prior to that he was also president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Thomas is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University where he focuses on the long-term impact of the politicization of financial services, as well as the effects of government granted privileges and m...

Chris Crowe on Hedge Fund Perspectives and the Economic Implications of Brexit 19.08.2019

Chris Crowe is head of economic research at Capula Investment Management, a London-based hedge fund, where he covers global economics, primarily the G10 countries plus China. Chris was previously UK economist at Barclays and prior to that he worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He joins the show today to give us the perspective of a macroeconomist from inside a hedge fund on markets, B...

Aaron Klein on Real-time Payments and Financial Regulation 12.08.2019

Aaron Klein is the director of the Center on Markets and Regulations at the Brookings Institution where, among other things, he focuses on financial regulations and real time payments. Aaron has written widely on real time payments and he joins the show today to talk about this issue, as they discuss the definition of real-time payments, how they could have a positive impact on limiting income ine...

Bonus Episode – Watch Party for the Fed's Historic Interest Rate Cut 07.08.2019

In this special bonus episode of Macro Musings, David Beckworth joins Employ America and several other monetary policy enthusiasts on the day of the July FOMC meeting to discuss what would be an historic event –  the first interest rate cut executed by the Fed since December 2008, and the market reactions to this event.  In addition to their discussion of this eventual rate cut, David and the othe...

Evan Koenig on the Fed's Review Period, Monetary Regimes, and Yield Curves 05.08.2019

Evan Koenig is a senior vice president and a principal policy advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas where he has been since 1988. Evan joins the show today to talk about his time at the Fed and some of his research. David and Evan also discuss where the Federal Reserve's review is going in the next six months, Evan's preferred version of nominal GDP targeting, and how important the yield...

Ulrich Bindseil on Central Bank Operating Systems 29.07.2019

Ulirch Bindseil is currently the director general of the Directorate General Market Operations at the European Central Bank (ECB), and in November he will become the director general of Market Infrastructure and Payments at the ECB. Ulrich has written widely on central banking operative frameworks, including a textbook, and is considered one of the world's leading authorities on operating systems....

Tyler Cowen on the Culture of Big Business in the United States 22.07.2019

Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University and is the co-author of the popular economics blog, Marginal Revolution. Tyler has published widely in economics and is the author of numerous books including his 2017 book, *The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream.* As a returning guest to the show, however, he joins today to talk about his newest boo...

Joe Gagnon on Currency Manipulation, Trade Imbalances, and Libra 15.07.2019

Joe Gagnon is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics where he has been since September 2009. Previously, Joe worked for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as a senior economist and the associate director of both the Division of International Finance and the Division of Monetary Affairs, and he has also served at the US Treasury Department.  Joe is a returning gue...

Heather Boushey on Income Inequality and Automatic Stabilizers 08.07.2019

Heather Boushey is the executive director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a think tank founded to accelerate cutting edge analysis into whether and how structural changes in the US economy affect economic growth. Heather recently co-edited a book titled, *Recession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American Economy,* and she joins the show today to discuss it. David and Heathe...

Jeffry Frieden on the Rise of Populism, Labor Mobility, and the Eurozone 01.07.2019

Jeffry Frieden is a professor of government at Harvard University where he specializes in the politics of international monetary and financial relations. Jeff is the author of many articles and books including *Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy* and *Lost Decades: The Making of America's Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery*. He joins the show today to talk about some o...

Salim Furth on Land Use Regulations, the Rise of NIMBYism, and Options for Reform 24.06.2019

Salim Furth is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center where he studies regional, urban, and macroeconomic trends and policies.  Salim joins the show today to talk about some of his work on housing supply in the United States and its implications for policy. David and Salim also discuss the problems that arise from rigid zoning laws, the rise of NIMBYism, and possible ways to conduct regul...

Sam Bell and Skanda Amarnath on Gross Labor Income Targeting 17.06.2019

Sam Bell and Skanda Amarnath are a part of a new organization called Employ America, a new research and advocacy organization that aims to get better labor market outcomes. Sam is also known on "FOMC Twitter" as an influencer when it comes to nominations for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Skanda is a former hedge fund economist and New York Federal Reserve research economist. Sam and...

Daniel Griswold on the USMCA, Tariffs, and the US Trade War 10.06.2019

Daniel Griswold is a research fellow and co-director of the Trade and Immigration Project at the Mercatus Center. Dan is a nationally recognized expert on trade and immigration policy and is a returning guest to Macro Musings. He joins the show today to help get us up to speed on the latest developments in issues on the ever-expanding US trade war with the rest of the world. David and Dan also dis...

Mike Bird on Japanese Monetary Policy, Yield Curve Control, and the US-China Trade War 03.06.2019

Mike Bird is a Hong Kong based reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering financial markets across Asia, and he previously worked in the Journal's London bureau. Mike is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he joins the show today to talk about some recent developments in the Asian economies. More specifically, David and Mike discuss Japan's activist monetary policy, yield curve control...

Robert Samuelson on the Great Inflation, Its History and Its Legacy 27.05.2019

Robert Samuelson is an economics columnist for the Washington Post and spent several decades working at Newsweek, where he wrote on various economic topics. Robert is the author of several books, including *The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement* and *The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence*. He joins the show today...

Dylan Matthews on Nine Ways to Prevent Future Recessions 20.05.2019

Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent with Vox where he covers a wide array of topics including immigration policy, universal basic income, education policy, effective altruism, animal welfare, and global development. Dylan is one of Vox's original founders and he has also previously worked for Wonkblog at the Washington Post.  He joins the show today to discuss one of his most recent articles...

Robert Graboyes on Monetary History of Small Coins 13.05.2019

Robert Graboyes is a senior research fellow and health economist at the Mercatus Center and has formerly worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Chase Manhattan Bank. Robert joins the show today to talk about monetary history and specifically the history of small coins. David and Robert also discuss a number of different coins and the history surrounding them, ranging from civil war to...

David Andolfatto on a Standing Repo Facility, Safe Asset Shortage, and the Fed's Low Inflation Problem 06.05.2019

David Andolfatto is a vice president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and is published widely in the field of monetary economics. He also blogs at MacroMania, and has recently published on issues such as the zero lower bound, the symmetry of the Fed's inflation target, a new standing repo facility, and MMT. David is a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he joins the show today to talk about...

Alexandra Scaggs on Bond Markets, the Treasury Yield Curve, and MMT 29.04.2019

Alexandra Scaggs is a senior writer at Barron's covering financial markets with a special emphasis on bond markets, and she previously wrote news and commentary for the Financial Times and for Bloomberg. Alexandra joins the show today to talk about the current state of bond markets and what it means for the economy. David and Alexandra also discuss corporate debt, the inversion of the treasury yie...

Andrew Park on the Implications of Collateralized Loan Obligations 22.04.2019

Andrew Park is a senior editor at S&P LCD and is one of the foremost experts on collateralized loan obligations and the leverage loan market. Andrew also writes daily on what's going on in the collateralized loan obligations (CLO) market and his data is the basis for most of the reporting on this topic in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and by many policymakers. He joins the show today t...

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