Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Douglas Irwin is a professor of economics at Dartmouth College and a leading expert on trade economics. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new book, *Clashing over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy,* which examines the history of American trade policy from the late 1700s to the present. Doug explains how US attitudes toward trade evolved over time and how free trade became the postwar co...

Norbert Michel is the director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation. Today, Norbert joins the show to discuss a new book of collected essays, which he edited, titled *Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation.* Norbert pushes back against the narrative that deregulation caused the 2008 financial crisis and argues that excessive regulation hinders growth and actually...

Karl Smith is the director of economic research at the Niskanen Center. He joins the show to discuss his thoughts on increasing market power (the ability of firms to influence prices) in the United States. Karl argues that this is at least partially due to what he calls the "Great Variation," the desire many Americans have had for more individualized consumer goods since the 1960s. Finally, Karl a...

Binyamin Appelbaum is an award-winning correspondent for the New York Times and covers the Federal Reserve and other aspects of economic policy. Today, he joins the show to discuss his work on covering the Fed and some ideas to improve Fed transparency. Binyamin also shares his thoughts on who President Trump may choose to fill vacancies on the Federal Reserve. Finally, Binyamin and David discuss...

Olivier Blanchard is the C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the former Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. Today, he joins the show to discuss working at the IMF in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession. He also shares his thoughts on the limitations of current-day macroeconomic models as well as some s...

JW Mason is an assistant professor of economics at John Jay College and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. Today, he joins the show to discuss his recent paper, "What Recovery? The Case for Continued Expansionary Policy at the Fed?" JW argues that the recovery from the Great Recession was unusually weak. Furthermore, the American economy is still not at full employment, and, as a result, potenti...

Caroline Freund is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). Previously, she served as the chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank. She joins the show to discuss her career in trade policy and her work on the slowdown in global trade since the Great Recession. Finally, she also shares her thought on President Trump's trade policies...

Lawrence Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus of Harvard University. Previously, he served as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton and Director of the National Economic Council under President Obama. In today's episode, he joins the show to discuss his work as both an academic and a policymaker. He also shares his thoughts on monetary and fisc...

Eric Hilt is a professor of economics and economic historian at Wellesley College. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new journal article *Economic History, Historical Analysis, and the "New History of Capitalism,"* which examines the growing debate between economic historians and historians of capitalism over issues such as slavery and economic growth. Eric also shares his thoughts on the "C...

JW Verret is an associate law professor at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University and a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center. Previously, he served as the chief economist on the House Financial Services Committee. Today, he joins the show to discuss his experience working on Capitol Hill and his thoughts on the CHOICE Act, the current legislation designed to replac...

Adam Millsap is an assistant director at the L. Charles Hilton Center at Florida State University and a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center. Today, he joins the show to discuss how different regional economies can lead to business cycles at the regional and state levels, rather than the federal level. This creates difficulty for monetary policy at the federal level as looser monetary...

Betsey Stevenson is an associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan and previously served as the chief economist at the U.S. Labor Department. Today, she joins the show to discuss her experience working at the Labor Department at a time of high unemployment as well as her more recent research on challenges in the U.S. labor market. Specifically, she talks about the problem of...

Greg Mankiw is a professor of economics at Harvard University and served as the chair of the Council on Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. Today, he joins the show to discuss the history of macroeconomics and how macroeconomists function as both scientists, who formulate and test theories, and as engineers, who set out to solve real world problems. Greg also shares his thoughts on t...

Edward Harrison is a consultant with Global Macro Advisers and founder of the investment news blog *Credit Writedowns.* Today, he joins the show to discuss the political forces that led to the establishment of the Eurozone and the turmoil that has plagued it since the Great Recession. Edward also shares his thoughts on whether the Eurozone will survive. David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blog...

In this week's episode in front of a live audience, Scott Sumner, the director of the Program on Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center and blogger at *The Money Illusion,* returns to the show to share his thoughts on the Federal Reserve's performance from the Great Recession to the present. Scott explains how forecast targeting and price level targeting could have mitigated the economic decline i...

Lisa Cook is an Associate Professor of Economics at Michigan State University and formerly served as a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama. Today, she joins the show to discuss her work on how the Great Recession affected households in the U.S. She also shares her thoughts on the prospects for economic development in Africa. Finally, she and David also discus...

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at *The Week.* He joins the show to discuss how bad economic policy has hindered strong economic recovery from the Great Recession. Furthermore, Ryan argues economic anxiety stemming from the Great Recession has given rise to populist and even extremist political movements throughout the world. Finally, Ryan and David discuss the folly of limiting population...

Stephen Matteo Miller is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He joins the show to discuss his work on the history of financial crises as well as the evolution of the U.S. banking system since the late 1800s. Steph stresses the importance of capital requirements (how much capital or equity a bank holds relative to its liabilities) in combating financial crise...

Ricardo Reis is a professor of economics at the London School of Economics and the editor of the prominent Journal of Monetary Economics. He joins the show to discuss the state of macroeconomics, which has recently come under attack from many commentators who claim the discipline lacks empirical rigor and has failed to accurately forecast economic conditions. Ricardo gives a nuanced defense of mac...

Matt Yglesias is a columnist and editor for the news website Vox, which he co-founded in 2014. Today, he joins the show to talk about the politics shaping Fed policy. Matt discusses why he thinks President Barack Obama's biggest policy failure was in failing to appoint members to the Fed's Board of Governors. He also shares his thoughts on where the Left and Right currently stand on monetary issue...

In this week's episode, David is joined by two guests, who make a case for economic optimism. Michael Mandel, chief economist at the Progressive Policy Institute, and Bret Swanson, president of Entropy Economics and visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, are the co-authors of the new paper, "The Coming Productivity Boom: Transforming the Physical Economy with Information." Michael...

Steven Horwitz is a professor of economics at Ball State University and a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He joins the show to discuss monetary disequilibrium (the condition when the supply and demand for money are not aligned, which leads to either inflation or deflation). David and Steve also examine Austrian Business Cycle Theory – a theory of how "m...

Matt Klein is a columnist for the Financial Times and blogger at FT Alphaville. Today, he joins the show to discuss his work on the Eurozone, optimal currency areas, and safe assets. David and Matt examine the monetary policy problems and debt burdens facing the Eurozone area and Greece, in particular. They also chat about the possibility of the United States becoming less of an optimal currency,...

Jay Shambaugh is a professor of economics and international affairs at The George Washington University and a former member on the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Today, he joins the show to discuss his work on the "Macroeconomic Trilemma" (or "Impossible Trinity"): the problem that a country cannot maintain a fixed exchange rate, free movement of capital, and an independent monetary policy al...

David Schleicher is an Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and is an expert in election law, land use, local government law, urban development, transportation, and local regulation of the sharing economy. He joins the show to discuss his new journal article, "Stuck! The Law and Economics of Residential Stability," which argues that government regulations, such as occupational licensing a...