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

Bill Nelson on the Using the Discount Window for Liquidity Requirements and Its Implications for the Fed's Balance Sheet 26.02.2024

Bill Nelson is the chief economist and an executive vice president at the Bank Policy Institute. Bill previously was a deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board, where his responsibilities included monetary policy analysis, discount window policy analysis, and financial institution supervision. Bill also worked closely with the BIS working groups in the desig...

Eric Leeper on *A Fiscal Accounting of COVID Inflation* 19.02.2024

Eric Leeper is a professor of economics at the University of Virginia, a former advisor to central banks around the world, and a distinguished visiting scholar at the Mercatus Center. Eric is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his work on the fiscal accounting of the COVID inflation surge. Specifically, David and Eric discuss fiscal dominance during t...

Jeffrey Lacker on Governance at the Federal Reserve 12.02.2024

Jeffrey Lacker is a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where he served as its head from 2004 to 2017. Jeffrey is now a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center and is also a returning guest to the podcast. He rejoins David on Macro Musings to talk about a wide range of Fed governance issues, including the evolving nature of governance at the Fed, the increasing polit...

Mark Koyama on *How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth* 05.02.2024

Mark Koyama is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and is a senior fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. Mark is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his recent book that he co-authored with Jared Rubin titled, *How the World Became Rich: The Histor...

Gauti Eggertsson on the Post-Pandemic Inflation Surge and its Implications for Monetary Policy 29.01.2024

Gauti Eggertsson is a professor of economics at Brown University and is the author of several recent papers on the causes of the 2021-22 inflation surge and the lessons to be drawn from it for monetary policy going forward. Gauti is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins the show to talk about these papers and their findings. Specifically, David and Gauti discuss the role of the F...

Jonathon Hazell on Phillips Curves, Wage Rigidity, and How to Measure R-Star 22.01.2024

Jonathon Hazell is an assistant professor of economics at the London School of Economics. Jonathon joins Macro Musings to talk about Phillips curves, R-stars, and nominal wage rigidity. Specifically, Jonathon and David also discuss the how to view the recent inflation experience, how to measure the natural rate using natural experiments, the downward nature of wage rigidity, and a lot more.   Tran...

Skanda Amarnath and Preston Mui on the Tribal Transitory Debate and the Future of the Fed's Framework 15.01.2024

Skanda Amarnath is the executive director of Employ America, a think tank that promotes full employment in the American economy, and Preston Mui is also a senior economist at Employ America. Skanda and Preston join Macro Musings to talk about U.S. disinflation and the debates surrounding it, as well as what we can expect from Fed policy in 2024 and beyond, and finally, the Fed's framework review t...

Claudio Borio on the Future of Central Bank Operating Systems 08.01.2024

Claudio Borio is the head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS. Claudio is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about central bank operating systems and the challenge of large balance sheets at central banks. David and Claudio also discuss the basics and uniqueness of the scarce reserve system, the argument...

Colby Smith, Steven Kelly, and Gerard DiPippo on the Highlights of 2023 and Looking Ahead to the Future 01.01.2024

Colby Smith is the US economics editor for the Financial Times, Steven Kelly is the Associate Director of Research at the Yale Program on Financial Stability, and Gerard DiPippo is the Senior Geoeconomics Analyst at Bloomberg. For this special year-end episode of Macro Musings, Colby, Steven, and Gerard join David to talk about the major surprises, themes, and underreported as well as overreported...

Tyler Cowen on the Greatest Economist of All Time and Other Macro Awards 25.12.2023

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 also published widely in the field of economics, and he is the author of numerous books, including his most recent one titled, * GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of All Time, and Why Does it Matter?* As a returning guest to show, Tyler rejoins Ma...

Nicolas Cachanosky on Dollarization in Argentina 18.12.2023

Nicolas Cachanosky is an associate professor of economics at the University of Texas at El Paso, and he, along with Emilio Ocampo, are the authors of a recent book titled, *Dollarization: A Solution for Argentina.* Nicolas joins Macro Musings to talk about the potential dollarization of Argentina, including what it would require and mean for the country. Specifically, David and Nicolas also discus...

Charlie Evans on the Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Monetary Policy 11.12.2023

Charles Evans was a 31-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System, serving as a researcher, vice president, and, ultimately, president and CEO of the Chicago Fed from 2007 to 2023. Charles joins Macro Musings to talk about his past and ongoing work on US monetary policy. Specifically, Charles and David discuss his work as a regional bank president and a member of the FOMC, the creation and adoptio...

Matteo Maggiori and Jesse Schreger on Geoeconomics and its Policy Implications 04.12.2023

Matteo Maggiori is a professor of finance at Stanford University and a returning guest to the podcast, and Jesse Schreger is an associate professor of economics at Columbia University. Matteo and Jesse, along with Christopher Clayton, have recently authored a paper titled, *A Framework for Geoeconomics,* and they join David on Macro Musings to discuss it. Specifically, Matteo, Jesse, and David als...

Matthew Raskin on Treasury Market Stability, Interest Rates, and the Fed's Balance Sheet 27.11.2023

Matthew Raskin is the US head of rates research at Deutsche Bank and was formerly a senior staff member of the Federal Reserve System. Matthew joins David on Macro Musings to talk about interest rates, QE, QT, and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. David and Matthew also discuss the inside story behind the Fed's shift in operating system, Matthew's framework for long-term interest rates, how to...

David Papell on the History, Motivations, and Current Applications of Monetary Policy Rules 20.11.2023

David Papell is a professor of economics at the University of Houston and has published widely on monetary policy rules. David joins Macro Musings to talk about his recent paper, *Policy Rules and Forward Guidance Following the COVID-19 Recession,* as well as the origins, past uses, and current applications of monetary policy rules.   Transcript for this week's episode.   David's Twitter: @DavidPa...

Rachel Siegel on the Fed, Commercial Real Estate, and the Economics of the 2024 Election 13.11.2023

Rachel Siegel is a reporter for the Washington Post , where she covers the Federal Reserve and also reports on the domestic economy more broadly. Rachel joins Macro Musings to talk about the current Fed beat as well as her work on other economic issues, including how the Fed deals with physical cash, the precarious state of the commercial real estate market, the potential issues facing voters head...

Will Bateman on the History and Evolving Nature of the Fiscal Fed 06.11.2023

Will Bateman is an associate professor and associate dean of research at the Australian National University College of Law. Will has recently authored a paper titled, *The Fiscal Fed,* which takes a close look at the Fed's fiscal functions during the two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Will joins Macro Musings to talk about th...

PJ Glandon on the State of Macroeconomics: Research and Pedagogy 30.10.2023

PJ Glandon is an associate professor of economics at Kenyon College, where he also serves as chair of the economics department. PJ joins David on Macro Musings to talk about his recent co-authored article, *Macroeconomics Research: Present and Past.* David and PJ also more broadly discuss the state of macroeconomics as a discipline, both in terms of research and pedagogy.   Transcript for this wee...

Ed Nelson on the Life, Work, and Legacy of Bennett McCallum 23.10.2023

Ed Nelson is a senior advisor in the Monetary Affairs Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Ed has also previously been a professor of economics at the University of Sydney and has worked at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank as well as the Bank of England. Most importantly, however, Ed was also a former student of, and co-author with, the late Bennett McCallum, and he...

Sam Hammond on AI, Techno-Feudalism, and the Future of the State 16.10.2023

Sam Hammond is a senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation and is non-resident fellow at the Niskanen Institute. Sam is also a previous guest of the show, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about artificial intelligence and the future of the state. Specifically, David and Sam discuss the current AI environment, how private AI may replace functions of the state, key moments in th...

Marc Goldwein on the US Government Budget: Structure, Challenges, and Reform Strategies 09.10.2023

Marc Goldwein is the Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), where he guides and conducts research on a wide array of topics related to fiscal policy and the federal budget. Marc joins Macro Musings to talk about the US government budget, its structure, its challenges, and its long-term trajectories. David and Marc also discuss th...

Lev Menand and Josh Younger on *Money and the Public Debt: Treasury Market Liquidity as a Legal Phenomenon* 02.10.2023

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 ta...

Thomas Hoenig on Public Debt Sustainability and the Current State of the US Banking System 25.09.2023

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 Feder...

Robert McCauley on Bond Market Crises and the International Lender of Last Resort 18.09.2023

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 artic...

Joe Gagnon on Inflation Progress and the Path Ahead: Breaking Down Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole Speech 11.09.2023

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 c...

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