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

Steven Kelly on the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse and Its Implications for Financial Policy 20.03.2023

Steven Kelly is a senior research associate at the Yale Program on Financial Stability and is a previous guest of the podcast. Steven rejoins Macro Musings to talk about the recent bank collapses at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature, the government response, and what this means for financial stability policy in the present and future. David and Steven also discuss the role that interest rate...

Derek Tang on the Present and Future Landscape for Fed Policy and Politics 13.03.2023

Derek Tang is the CEO and co-founder of LH Meyer, and is part of the research team based in Washington, D.C. where he forecasts Fed policy developments, provides bespoke policy analysis to institutional investors, and also closely monitors and forecasts the Fed's balance sheet. Derek joins David on Macro Musings to talk about Fed policy, Fed politics, and what to expect in 2023 and 2024. Specifica...

Joey Politano on Fed Policy, Inflation, and the Current State of the US Economy 06.03.2023

Joey Politano is an economist and commentator who writes regularly on his Substack newsletter titled, Apricitas Economics. Joey is also a previous guest of the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about the state of the US economy, inflation, Fed policy, and much more. Specifically, David and Joey discuss the results of the Fed's ongoing rate hikes, the narrative that higher rates may lea...

Peter Conti-Brown on the Legal and Regulatory Issues Facing the Fed and Financial Markets 27.02.2023

Peter Conti-Brown is an associate professor of financial regulation and legal studies at the University of Pennsylvania and is a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. Peter is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and rejoins the podcast to talk about some of the big legal and regulatory issues facing the financial and monetary policy space today. Specifically, David and Peter discu...

David Wilcox on the Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Crippling Costs of Default 20.02.2023

David Wilcox is a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and is the Director of Economic Research at Bloomberg Economics. Previously, David served for many years on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board, as deputy director from 2001 to 2011 and as director from 2011 to 2018 of the Division of Research and Statistics. In the latter role, he functioned as t...

Julie Hill on the History and Recent Developments of Fed Master Accounts 13.02.2023

Julie Hill is a professor of law at the University of Alabama's School of Law and she specializes in the study of the regulation of financial institutions. Julie also has a new paper out titled, *Opening a Federal Reserve Account,* and she joins Macro Musings to talk about the history and recent developments surrounding Fed master accounts. David and Julie also discuss the legal basis for these ac...

Macro Lit Review 3: Highlights from Early 2023 with George Selgin 06.02.2023

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 recent developments in the monetary and fiscal policy space. Specifically, David and George discuss new narratives around shadow banking and the financial crisis, the fiscal...

Michael Strain on Averting the Looming Debt Ceiling Disaster 30.01.2023

Michael Strain is the Director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute and is a returning guest to Macro Musings. Michael rejoins the podcast to talk about the looming debt ceiling crisis and his recent article on the issue titled, *Averting a Debt-Ceiling Disaster.* David and Michael specifically discuss the background,...

John Roberts on Macroeconomic Modeling at the Fed, Makeup Policy, and the Future of FAIT 23.01.2023

John Roberts is a 36-year veteran of the Federal Reserve Board and mostly recently was the Deputy Associate Director in the Division of Research and Statistics, overseeing the board's domestic macroeconomic modeling efforts. From 2017-2019, John also served as a special advisor to Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, where his responsibilities includes preparation of speeches, providing advice...

Paul Tucker on *Global Discord: Values and Power in a Fractured World Order* 16.01.2023

Paul Tucker is a 33-year veteran of the Bank of England, where among other positions, he served as both a member and deputy governor of the Monetary Policy Committee. Currently, Paul is a research fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard. He is also a returning guest to the podcast, and rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his new book, *Global Discord: Values an...

Victoria Guida on Developments at the Federal Reserve and in Financial Regulation 09.01.2023

Victoria Guida is an economics reporter for Politico where she covers monetary policy and financial regulatory policy. Victoria is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and she rejoins the podcast to talk about the big developments at the Fed and in the financial regulatory policy space in 2022 and what we can expect in 2023. Specifically, David and Victoria discuss personnel changes and tradin...

Martin Chorzempa on China's Cashless Revolution and the Rise of Super Apps 02.01.2023

Martin Chorzempa is a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics and is the author of a new book titled, *The Cashless Revolution: China's Reinvention of Money and the End of America's Domination of Finance and Technology.* Martin joins Macro Musings to talk about this book as well as the history of Chinese fintech development, the basics of super apps in China, challeng...

Heather Long, Ryan Avent, and Cardiff Garcia on Pandemic Reflections and Economic Predictions for the Future 26.12.2022

For this special end of the year edition of Macro Musings, Heather Long, Ryan Avent, and Cardiff Garcia rejoin the podcast to reflect on the biggest economic surprises and stories of the past few years, while giving their outlook and predictions for the future. Heather Long is an editorial writer and columnist for the Washington Post, Ryan Avent is the trade and international economic editor for t...

Tomas Hirst on the State of ECB Policy and the Eurozone Economy 19.12.2022

Tomas Hirst is a macro analyst in the Strategy and Allocation division at LMI and formerly worked at Credit Sights, an independent fixed income research company, where he led the European strategy team covering Euro and sterling credit markets. Prior to that, he also worked at Bloomberg and the World Economic Forum in Geneva. Tomas joins David on Macro Musings to talk about the Eurozone economy, t...

Joe Gagnon on *25 Years of Excess Unemployment* and the Phillips Curve Debate 12.12.2022

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 the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to take a look back on the past few years and to discuss his new paper on excess unemployment over the past 25 years. Specifically, David and Joe also discuss the m...

BONUS: Noah Smith on the State of Macroeconomics 07.12.2022

Noah Smith is a former columnist for Bloomberg and is now a popular writer at his own Noahpinion Substack. In this bonus segment from the previous conversation, Noah rejoins the podcast to talk about the nuts and bolts of macroeconomic modeling. Specifically, David and Noah discuss why macroeconomics is still in its infancy, how we can improve macro modeling moving forward, how to spot "nutty" mac...

Noah Smith on the Future of the Chinese Economy and the Climate of Social Change in the US 05.12.2022

Noah Smith is a former columnist for Bloomberg and is now a popular writer at his own Noahpinion Substack. Noah is also a returning guest to the podcast, and rejoins Macro Musings for a wide ranging discussion on some of the recent issues he's been covering on his Substack, including China, social change in the US, recent macro developments, and much more. Noah and David also discuss the façade of...

Hugh Rockoff on Optimal Currency Areas, "Yellowbacks," and Free Banking 28.11.2022

Hugh Rockoff is a professor of economics at Rutgers University and has done extensive work in U.S. monetary history. He joins the show to discuss the criteria for an ideal monetary union and argues that the U.S. didn't really become an optimal currency area until the 1930s. David and Hugh then discuss whether a present-day example, the Eurozone, fits these criteria. They also talk about interestin...

Patrick Horan and David Beckworth on *The Fate of FAIT* and the Future of the Fed's Monetary Framework 21.11.2022

In this special episode of Macro Musings, David Beckworth and Patrick Horan join guest host Carola Binder to discuss their newest paper, *The Fate of FAIT: Salvaging the Fed's Framework.* Patrick Horan is a research fellow in the Mercatus Center's Monetary Policy Program and Carola Binder is an associate professor of economics at Haverford College as well as a visiting scholar at the Mercatus Cent...

Ethan Ilzetzki on the International Implications of Fed Policy, Business Cycle Theory, and the UK Crisis 14.11.2022

Ethan Ilzetzki is an associate professor of economics at the London School of Economics and a research fellow with the Center for Economic Policy Research. Ethan is also a returning guest to the show, and he rejoins David on Macro Musings to talk about the international implications of Fed Policy and the strong dollars as well as Ethan's thoughts on business cycle theory in light of the recent inf...

Megan Greene on the UK's Recent Market Turmoil and What it Means for the Future of the Global Economy 07.11.2022

Megan Greene is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University and is the global chief economist at Kroll. Megan is also a contributing editor and columnist for the Financial Times and is a returning guest to the podcast. She rejoins David on Macro Musings to talk about a recent article she has written titled, *UK Market Turmoil is a Harbinger of G...

Yesha Yadav on Treasury Market Turmoil and Potential Solutions for Reform 31.10.2022

Yesha Yadav is a law professor and associate dean of Vanderbilt Law School. Yesha works on banking and financial regulation, securities regulation, the law of money and payment system, and is a returning guest to the podcast. She rejoins Macro Musings to talk about recent developments in the Treasury market and the prospects for reform. David and Yesha also discuss the future of CBDC in the US, th...

Peter Ganong on the Dynamism and Resiliency of the US Economy 24.10.2022

Peter Ganong is an associate professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He joins David on Macro Musings to talk about his work on the dynamism and resiliency of the US economy. Peter and David also discuss the income convergence story in the US, how to address increased housing costs, the economic effects of pandemic response measures, and a lot more.   Transcrip...

Bill Nelson on How Bank Examiner Preferences are Obstructing Monetary Policy 17.10.2022

Bill Nelson is the chief economist and executive vice president at the Bank Policy Institute. He previously worked as 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 has also worked closely with the BIS working groups on the...

BONUS: George Selgin on *False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery* 12.10.2022

George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute and is also a long-time returning guest of Macro Musings. In this bonus segment from the previous conversation, George rejoins the podcast to talk about his new book project on the Great Depression titled, False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery. Specifica...

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