Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Macro Musings with David Beckworth
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
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Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 6, 2026
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Episodes
104 - Jim Hamilton on Econometrics, Energy Markets, and Low Interest Rates 30.04.2018 1:03:53
Jim Hamilton is a professor of economics at the University of California-San Diego and the author of *Time Series Analysis,* a popular graduate-level econometrics textbook. Today, Jim joins the show to discuss his work in econometrics as well as his research on the role oil plays in the U.S. economy. He also shares his thoughts on how oil will continue to shape the economy in light of the rise of...
103 - Daniela Gabor on Safe Assets and Shadow Banking 23.04.2018 1:02:04
Daniela Gabor is a professor of economics and finance at the University of West England at Bristol and a monetary economist. She specializes in shadow banking, capital markets, and transnational banking. Today, she joins the show to discuss her new paper, *Chasing Unicorns: The European Single Safe Asset Project*. David and Daniela also discuss merits of equity-based banking, elements of the shado...
102 – Morgan Ricks on *Money as Infrastructure* and Bank Regulations 16.04.2018 1:18:35
Morgan Ricks is a law professor at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he was a senior policy advisor and financial restructuring expert at the U.S. Treasury Department where he focused primarily on financial stability initiatives and capital market policy in response to the financial crisis. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new paper, *Money as Infrastructure* where he contrasts what he cal...
101 – Ioana Marinescu on Universal Basic Income 09.04.2018 53:39
Ioana Marinescu is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Today she joins the show to highlight her work on the concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). David and Ioana discuss how a UBI would work and how it compares and contrasts with Milton Friedman's related negative income tax proposal....
100 – Ryan Avent, Cardiff Garcia, and Heather Long on Lessons from the Great Recession 02.04.2018 59:39
Macro Musings is celebrating its 100th episode, and for this special occasion, we have an all-star panel of guests joining the show! Heather Long is an economics correspondent for the Washington Post and formerly was a senior reporter at CNN. Ryan Avent is a columnist for the Economist Magazine and author of several books including his most recent work, *The Wealth of Humans: Work, Power, and Stat...
99 – Edward Nelson on Money, its Role within Monetary Policy, and the Monetarist Legacy 26.03.2018 1:07:13
Ed Nelson is a senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and formerly worked at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of England. Today, he joins the show to discuss his research on the role of money in business cycles. David and Ed also discuss nominal income targeting, Milton's Friedman's influence on monetary economics, and Australia's successful monetary policy perform...
[Rebroadcast] Daniel Griswold on the Basics of Trade 19.03.2018 1:00:15
Daniel Griswold is a Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Program on the American Economy and Globalization at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He joins the show to discuss the theory of trade, dating back to Adam Smith, and his work on current US trade policy. Daniel and David discuss some of the misconceptions surrounding trade and why Americans should emb...
98 - Noah Smith on Immigration Economics 12.03.2018 1:01:39
Noah Smith is a Bloomberg View columnist and formerly a professor of finance at Stony Brook University. Today, he joins the show to talk about his journey into the economics blogosphere and some of his recent work on immigration into the United States. . David and Noah discuss some of the false narratives surrounding immigration as well as the impact of immigration on native workers' wages, labor...
97 - Kevin Hassett on Growth, Technological Change, and the Trump Administration's Economic Policies 05.03.2018 43:06
Kevin Hassett is the chair of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, a former scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a professor at Columbia University, and a Fed Economist. Kevin has also advised John McCain, George W. Bush, and Mitt Romney on their presidential campaigns. Today, he joins the show today to outline some of the big issues of the past and present facing the U.S. econ...
96 – Brink Lindsey and Steven Teles on Rent-Seeking and the Twin Melees Afflicting the U.S. Economy 26.02.2018 57:45
Brink Lindsey is the Vice President and Director of the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center, and Steven Teles is a Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center. Today, they join the show to discuss their new book, *The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Enrich Themselves, Slow Down Growth, and Increase Inequality.* For Lindsey and Te...
95 – George Selgin on Fed Floors, Corridors, and Interest on Excess Reserves 19.02.2018 55:51
George Selgin is the Director of the Cato Institute Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Georgia. Today, George joins the show to discuss the shrinking of the Fed's balance sheet, the difference between corridor and floor systems in monetary policy, and the Fed's practice of paying interest on excess reserves. David and George also...
94 - Mike Konczal on Expanding the Fed's Monetary Toolkit 12.02.2018 57:59
Mike Konczal is a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute where he works on financial reform, unemployment, inequality, and a progressive vision of the economy. He has also recently co-authored a paper with J.W. Mason titled, "A New Direction for the Federal Reserve: Expanding the Monetary Policy Toolkit." Today, Mike joins the show to discuss the progress of financial regulation, the Federal Reserve's...
93 – Neel Kashkari and Ron Feldman on the Minneapolis Plan and Monetary Policy Reform 05.02.2018 49:43
Neel Kashkari is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Ron Feldman is the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Today, they join the show to describe the Minneapolis Plan to End Too Big to Fail, the Minneapolis Fed's proposal to end the problem of systemic risk to the economy posed by excessively...
92 - Ángel Ubide on Getting Central Banks Out of Their Comfort Zones 29.01.2018 1:03:19
Ángel Ubide is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and formerly was a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new book *The Paradox of Risk: Leaving the Monetary Policy Comfort Zone.* Ángel argues that the Federal Reserve has become too afraid to take risks when implementing new policies. Instead, he offers alternative proposals...
91 - Jesse Eisinger on the Financial Crisis and the Department of Justice 22.01.2018 1:08:29
Jesse Eisinger is a senior reporter and editor at ProPublica as well as a Pulitzer Prize winner. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new book *The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives.* Jesse argues that in recent years, the U.S. Justice Department has become excessively timid in prosecuting white collar crime on Wall Street and in the financial sector. Da...
90 – Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel on Fed History and the Myth of Its Independence 15.01.2018 1:01:50
Sarah Binder is a professor of Political Science at George Washington University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She research focuses on Congress, Congressional development, and political parties. Mark is the founder and chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital LLC, and formerly was with the World Bank. Today, they join the show to discuss the history and politics behind...
89 – Mike Bird on the Eurozone, Abenomics, and the Fed Balance Sheet 08.01.2018 1:00:04
Mike Bird is a reporter for *The Wall Street Journal* and covers global economics and markets from the Journal's London office. Today, he joins the show to discuss recent developments in central banking across the world. David and Mike discuss how the Eurozone has dealt with some of the serious turmoil it has faced in recent years as well as Japan's "Abenomics" program geared toward raising inflat...
BONUS: The Macroeconomics of Star Wars and Star Trek 01.01.2018 57:18
(REBROADCAST EPISODE) In this week's special episode, David compares and contrasts the economics of the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. He is joined by Zachary Feinstein, an Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and Manu Saadia, author of *Trekonomics.* Topics include the economic fallout from the destruction of the Death Star, the absence of money in Star Trek, and whether...
BONUS: Laura Birg and Anna Goeddeke on Christmas Economics 25.12.2017 54:11
(REBROADCAST EPISODE) In this week's special episode, David discusses the economics of Christmas with Laura Birg, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Goettingen, and Anna Goeddke, a professor of economics at the ESB Business School at Reutlingen University. Topics include the dead-weight loss of gift-giving, Christmas' effects on seasonal GDP, increases in alcohol consumption, and the...
88 – Ricardo Caballero on the Safe Asset Conundrum 18.12.2017 58:34
Ricardo J. Caballero is a professor of economics at MIT and is widely published in the fields of macroeconomics and international economics. Today, he joins the show to discuss his work on the "Safe Assets Shortage Conundrum" and why this is important to macroeconomic growth and stability. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David's Twitter: @...
87 - Stephen Williamson on New Monetarism and Neo-Fisherism 11.12.2017 1:06:40
Stephen Williamson is a professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario and formerly served as a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Today, Steve joins the show to discuss his work on "New Monetarism," a research agenda emerging out of the monetarist tradition associated with Milton Friedman. David and Steve also discuss "Neo-Fisherism," a counterintuitive view tha...
86 - William A. Barnett on Divisia Aggregates and Measuring Money in the Economy 04.12.2017 59:35
William A. Barnett is the Oswald Distinguished Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Kansas and Director of the Center for Financial Stability. Today, Bill joins the show to discuss his work on better measurement of monetary aggregates in the economy. David and Bill also discuss Bill's book *Getting It Wrong,* which argues that old simple-sum aggregates of the money supply are obsolete...
85 – Caroline Baum on Treasury Yield Curves and the Debt Ceiling 27.11.2017 49:13
Caroline Baum is an economics columnist at MarketWatch and formerly was a writer for Bloomberg and Dow Jones. Today, she joins the show to discuss how she became a financial journalist as a non-economics major as well as her recent columns on monetary policy and what Treasury bond yields are predicting about the future. She also shares her thoughts on why the debt ceiling should be abolished. Fina...
84 - Nick Bloom on Economic Uncertainty and the Productivity Slowdown 20.11.2017 53:21
Nicholas Bloom is a professor of economics at Stanford University and is the co-director of the Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Today, Nick joins the show to discuss his work on the causes and effects of economic uncertainty as well as how to measure uncertainty in an economy. David and Nick also discuss why productivity has slowed...
83 - Jeffrey Rogers Hummel on Myths about the Fed and Interest Rates 13.11.2017 1:02:05
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel is a professor of economics at San Jose State University and writes on macroeconomics and economic history. Today, Jeff joins the show to discuss his work on the Fed's interventions during the Great Recession. He also dispels some myths about the extent to which the Fed really influences interest rates. Finally, he explains why he believes that cash plays an important role in...
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