Macro Musings

Jeanna Smialek covers the Federal Reserve and the economy for The New York Times, and joins Macro Musings to recap and summarize the highs and lows of US monetary policy during 2020. Specifically, David and Jeanna discuss the recent histories of Federal Reserve rate hikes and the persistence of low inflation, the nascent optimism about the economy at the start of 2020, the Fed’s policy response to COVID, and what lessons the Fed will be taking into the future.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Jeanna’s Twitter: @jeannasmialek Jeanna’s New York Times archive: https://www.nytimes.com/by/jeanna-smialek   Related Links:   *Janet Yellen's Lift Off (CMFA Working Paper No. 001)* by George Selgin https://www.alt-m.org/2020/12/04/janet-yellens-lift-off-cmfa-working-paper-no-001/   *Measuring the Natural Rate of Interest: International Trends and Determinants* by Kathryn Holston and Thomas Laubach https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/wp2016-11

Ethan Ilzetzki is an associate professor of economics at the London School of Economics and a research affiliate with the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Ethan is also a returning guest to the show, and he re-joins Macro Musings to talk about the European Central Bank’s big strategy review, the future of the Euro, and whether change is afoot in our international monetary system.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Ethan’s Twitter: @ilzetzki Ethan’s website: https://www.ilzetzki.com/   Related Links:   *Why Is the Euro Punching Below Its Weight?* by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen Reinhart, and Kenneth Rogoff https://www.nber.org/papers/w26760   *Will the Secular Decline in Exchange Rate and Inflation Volatility Survive COVID-19?* by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen Reinhart, and Kenneth Rogoff https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/will-the-secular-decline-in-exchange-rate-and-inflation-volatility-survive-covid-19/   Centre for Macroeconomics Panel of Exper

Governor Benjamin Diokno is the current head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or BSP, which is the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines. The Governor joins David on Macro Musings to shed light on the art and science of central banking from an emerging market perspective, as seen through the experience in the Philippines. Specifically, Governor Diokno and David discuss the structure, mandate, and operating system of the BSP, how the BSP has managed to avoid the zero lower bound, the prospects of a Philippine central bank digital currency, and how a flexible exchange rate has helped the BSP hedge against dollar volatility.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Gov. Diokno’s Twitter: @GovBenDiokno Gov. Diokno’s World Bank profile: https://live.worldbank.org/experts/benjamin-e-diokno   Related Links:   Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas website: https://www.bsp.gov.ph/SitePages/Default.aspx   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth David’s blog: http:

Sam Hammond is the director of poverty and welfare policy at the Niskanen Center and Brink Lindsey is vice president and director of the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center. Both are returning guests to the podcast, and they join David again on Macro Musings to talk about their new pro-growth report titled, *Faster Growth, Fairer Growth: Policies for a High Road, High Performance Economy.* Specifically, they detail a number of different policies the US government could adopt to achieve faster and fairer economic growth, including social insurance modernization, child allowances, and more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Sam’s Twitter: @hamandcheese Sam’s Niskanen profile: https://www.niskanencenter.org/author/samuel-hammond/   Brink’s Twitter: @lindsey_brink Brink’s Niskanen profile: https://www.niskanencenter.org/author/brink-lindsey/   Related Links:   *Faster Growth, Fairer Growth: Policies for a High Road, High Performance Econom

Bilal Hafeez is the CEO and Founder of Macro Hive and previously worked at JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Nomura. Bilal joins Macro Musings to discuss recent economic developments and the outlook for inflation after the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, Bilal and David discuss the prospects for a K-shaped US recovery, COVID-19’s impact on the Eurozone and the UK, how the launch of the EU’s recovery fund has fared, and how the pandemic has impacted the outlook for the services sector, inflation, and the US dollar.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Bilal’s Macro Hive profile: https://macrohive.com/researcher/bilal-hafeez/ Bilal’s website: http://bilalhafeez.com/ Bilal’s Twitter: @bilalhafeez123   Related Links:   *The True Economic Consequences of the COVID Peace* by Bilal Hafeez https://macrohive.com/hive-exclusives/the-true-economic-consequences-of-the-covid-peace   *EU Enjoys ‘Outrageous Demand’ for First Covid-related Bond* by Tommy Stubbington

Adam Ozimek is the chief economist for Upwork, a global remote freelancing platform, and a returning guest to the podcast. Adam rejoins Macro Musings to talk about some of the lasting impacts of the pandemic on businesses; specifically its influence on remote work. David and Adam also discuss the results of the payment protection program, why the prime age employment to population ratio should become the most important employment measure, the economic geography of remote work, and more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Adam’s Twitter: @ModeledBehavior Adam’s website: https://adamozimek.com/   Related Links:   *The Future of Remote Work*by Adam Ozimek https://www.upwork.com/press/releases/the-future-of-remote-work   *COVID-19 and Remote Work: An Early Look at US Data* by Erik Byrnjolfsson, John Horton, Adam Ozimek, Daniel Rock, Garima Sharma, and Hong-Yi TuYe https://www.nber.org/papers/w27344   *Where Remote Work Saves Commuters Most* by Adam

Alan Cole is a senior economist at the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Alan joins David on Macro Musings to discuss his work with the JEC and his thoughts on the economy. Specifically, Alan and David discuss the high savings rate during the COVID-19 crisis, the track record of US monetary policy from the 2008 financial crisis to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, why the Fed’s commitment to average inflation targeting is an incremental step toward level targeting, and suggestions for the Fed moving forward.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Alan’s Twitter: @AlanMCole   Related Links:   The JEC’s Social Capital Project: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/socialcapitalproject   *Saving and COVID-19* by Alan Cole https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/analysis?ID=754B52C6-04CD-458B-8755-98D1219398F1   *Stable Monetary Policy to Connect More Americans to Work* by Alan Cole https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/ind

David French is a senior editor of The Dispatch and has written widely on American politics. David has a new book out on the polarization in the United States titled, *Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore our Nation.* He joins Macro Musings for another special presidential election episode to discuss this book as well as what political polarization means for the election, this country, and the economy. Specifically, both Davids talk about the political geography of polarization, the national red state versus blue state dynamics, and how instituting more federalism might be the solution.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   David French’s Twitter: @DavidAFrench David French’s Dispatch archive: https://thedispatch.com/people/5849328-david-french   Related Links:   *Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore our Nation* by David French https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250201973   David’s Twitter: @Davi

Michael Strain is the Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and a previous guest of the show. Michael joins Macro Musings for a special presidential election episode to discuss President Trump's economic record and what a Biden presidency might mean for the economy compared to a second term for President Trump. Specifically, David and Michael discuss the presidential candidates’ past records and campaign goals for trade, taxes, regulations, immigration, and more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Michael’s Twitter: @MichaelRStrain Michael’s AEI profile: https://www.aei.org/profile/michael-r-strain/   Related Links:   The Mercatus Center’s RegData databse:  https://www.mercatus.org/publications/regulation/regdata   *The triumph of the Trump tax cuts* by Joshua McCabe https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/522813-the-triumph-of-the-trump-tax-cuts   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth David’s blog: http://macromarke

Matt Yglesias is the co-founder of Vox, a senior correspondent who focuses on politics and economic policy, and a returning guest to the podcast. Matt once again joins Macro Musings to discuss his new book, *One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger.* Specifically, David and Matt talk about how to reinvigorate the economy; through enacting better housing and transportation policies, dramatically increasing immigration, reviving America’s forgotten cities, and more. Finally, they also discuss the Fed’s new average inflation targeting regime, and what kind of direction the Fed will take over the new few years.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Matt’s Twitter: @mattyglesias Matt’s Vox profile: https://www.vox.com/authors/matthew-yglesias Matt’s podcast: https://www.vox.com/the-weeds   Related Links:   *One Billion Americans: The Case For Thinking Bigger* by Matt Yglesias https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/636499/one-billion-ameri

Shruti Rajagopalan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center where she leads the programs Indian Political Economy Research and the Emergent Ventures India. Shruti joins David on Macro Musings to discuss the past, present and future of the Indian economy. Specifically, Shruti and David discuss India’s mid-20th century experiment with socialism, subsequent reforms from 1980 through the 2000s, and how further reforms to manufacturing and to land and labor markets can accelerate its economic development.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Shruti’s Twitter: @srajagopalan Shruti’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/shruti-rajagopalan Shruti’s podcast, *Ideas of India*: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/tag/ideas-of-india-podcast/https://www.mercatus.org/tags/ideas-india   Related Links:   *India Grows at Night* by Gurcharan Das https://www.amazon.com/India-Grows-At-Night-Liberal/dp/0670084700   *In India, Don’t Hate the Ma

Roberto Perli is a partner and the head of global policy at Cornerstone Macro and is formerly a senior staffer at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Roberto joins Macro Musings to discuss the Fed’s new average inflation targeting framework and what it means for monetary policy, markets, and the economy going forward. Specifically, David and Roberto also discuss the current vague nature of FOMC forward guidance, the challenges and credibility concerns of AIT, and how to further improve the Fed’s framework in the future.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Roberto’s Twitter: @R_Perli Roberto’s Cornerstone Macro profile: https://www.cornerstonemacro.com/people/   Related Links:   FOMC September meeting press release: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20200916a.htm   *Temporary Price-level Targeting: An Alternative Framework for Monetary Policy* by Ben Bernanke https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ben-bernanke/2017/1

Megan Greene is a global economist and Senior Fellow at Harvard University School, and Eric Lonergan is an economist and macro fund manager at M&G Investments. Both Megan and Eric are returning guests of the show, and they re-join Macro Musings to discuss dual interest rates and the potential power it brings to central banks. Specifically, they discuss the current constraints on central banks’ toolkit, how the example of the ECB targeting TLTRO’s illustrates the potential of dual interest rates, why the concern over fiscal versus monetary policy is misunderstood, and whether the Fed’s new average inflation targeting mandate can be successfully implemented.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Megan’s Twitter: @economistmeg Megan’s website: https://economistmeg.com/about/ Megan’s Financial Times archive: https://www.ft.com/megan-greene   Eric’s Twitter: @ericlonners Eric’s blog: https://www.philosophyofmoney.net/ Eric’s M&G Investments pro

Thorvald Grung Moe is a 30 year veteran is of the Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, and has also worked in the Norwegian Ministry of Finance, the World Bank, and the IMF. Thorvald joins Macro Musings to talk about Marriner Eccles and a paper he has written on him title, *Marriner Eccles in the 1950 Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord: Lessons for Central Bankers.* David and Thorvald specifically discuss Eccles’ views on countercyclical monetary policy and government finance, his role in reforming and centralizing the Fed, and the many other lessons that can be learned from his life, particularly in the realm of macroeconomics.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Thorvald’s Twitter: @finstab Thorvald’s Levy Economics Institute profile: http://www.levyinstitute.org/scholars/thorvald-grung-moe   Related Links:   *Marriner S. Eccles and the 1951 Treasury – Federal Reserve Accord: Lessons for Central Bank Independence* by Thorvald Grung Moe http:/

Carolyn Sissoko is an associate professor of economics at the University of the West of England, and she has written widely on shadow banking, money markets, and the plumbing of the financial system. Carolyn joins Macro Musings to talk about the evolution of money markets over the past few decades, and its implication for both monetary and fiscal policy. Specifically, David and Carolyn discuss the collateral supply effect, the consequences of moving from LIBOR to SOFR, and solutions to other money market concerns.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Carolyn’s Twitter: @csissoko Carolyn’s UWE Bristol profile: https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/CarolynSissoko   Related Links:   *The Collateral Supply Effect on Central Bank Policy* by Carolyn Sissoko https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3545546   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/

Robin Harding is the Tokyo Bureau chief for the Financial Times. Until 2015, he was based in Washington D.C., covering the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and the IMF for the Financial Times. Robin Macro Musings to talk about the Japanese economy, Abenomics, and the evolution of monetary policy in advanced economies over the past decade. Specifically, Robin and David discuss what the Bank of Japan’s point inflation target has in common with the Fed’s average inflation target, how the Bank of Japan found itself on the frontlines of innovation in monetary policy, and what the legacy of Abenomics portends for the future of monetary policy.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Robin’s Twitter: @RobinBHarding Robin’s Financial Times profile: https://www.ft.com/robin-harding   Related Links:   *Six Abenomics Lessons for a World Struggling with ‘Japanification’* by Robin Harding https://www.ft.com/content/9f4b1656-95a2-41e0-9c86-70f5b063796d   *Abe

George Selgin is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and is a returning guest to Macro Musings. He joins again to talk about his views on the Fed’s new framework and his recent book titled, *The Menace of Fiscal QE.* Specifically, David and George discuss the Fed’s quantitative easing evolution, and how the move to a floor system helped pave the way for fiscal QE to become a more popular policy in the present.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin   Related Links:   *The Menace of Fiscal QE* by George Selgin https://www.cato.org/books/menace-fiscal-qe   *Mission Creep at the Fed* by Greg Ip https://www.wsj.com/articles/mission-creep-at-the-fed-11598461446   David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/

Macro Musings is back with another bonus episode, as Sam Bell and Skanda Amarnath (Employ America) are joined by Julia Coronado (Macro Policy Perspectives) and David Beckworth (Macro Musings) to talk through the announcement of the Fed’s framework transition towards average inflation targeting. Specifically, this panel of guests discuss the implications of moving to an average inflation targeting regime, whether the shift may cause credibility problems for the central bank, how to continue to improve the Fed’s toolkit, and more.   Special thanks to the Employ America team for allowing us to use their webcast audio for this special Macro Musings bonus content.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Employ America’s Twitter: @employamerica Employ America’s website: https://employamerica.org/ Sam Bell’s Twitter: @sam_a_bell Skanda Amarnath’s Twitter: @IrvingSwisher   Julia’s Twitter: @jc_econ Julia’s Macro Policy Perspectives profile: https://www.macr

Scott Lincicome is a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Cato Institute where he writes on international and domestic economic issues, including international trade, industrial policy and manufacturing and global supply chains. Scott joins David on Macro Musings to discuss what we've learned so far about the so-called China shock and where we are today in the trade war. Specifically, David and Scott discuss the historical rise of Chinese exports, its impact on US labor markets, how certain policies make it harder for US workers to adjust, and whether the Trump administration marks a genuine regime shift in international trade.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Scott’s Twitter: @scottlincicome Scott’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicome   Related Links:   *Testing the ‘China Shock’: Was Normalizing Trade with China a Mistake?”*by Scott Lincicome https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/testing-china-sh

Jim Tankersley is a tax and economics reporter for the New York Times and has written a new book on the middle class titled, *The Riches of This Land: The Untold, True Story of the American Middle Class.* Jim joins Macro Musings to talk about this book, and the state of the middle class in the US. David and Jim also discuss the history and golden era of the middle class as well as the steps policymakers can take to ensure we return to a path of robust economic growth.   Transcript for the episode can be found here: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/tags/macro-musings   Jim’s Twitter: @jimtankersley Jim’s New York Times archive: https://www.nytimes.com/by/jim-tankersley   Related Links:   *The Riches of This Land: The Untold, True Story of the American Middle Class* by Jim Tankersley https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/jim-tankersley/the-riches-of-this-land/9781541767836/   *The Allocation of Talent and U.S. Economic Growth* by Chang-Tai Hsieh, Erik Hurst, Charles Jones, and Peter Klenow https://www.nb