Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Mercatus Center at George Mason University
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9 snips
Jun 5, 2023 • 1h

Christina Skinner on Central Bank Digital Currency as New Public Money

Christina Skinner is a legal scholar at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and was formerly legal counsel to the Bank of England. Christina is also a returning guest to the podcast, and she rejoins Macro Musings to talk about central bank digital currency and its legal implications for the state, individuals, and the Fed itself. David and Christina also discuss recent developments in CBDC policy rhetoric, the privacy issues surrounding CBDC, the potential interest bearing nature of CBDC, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode Christina's Twitter: @CParaSkinner Christina's Wharton profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Central Bank Digital Currency as New Public Money* by Christina Parajon Skinner *A New Coin of the Realm? Central Bank Digital Currency as New Public Money* by Christina Parajon Skinner
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7 snips
May 29, 2023 • 49min

Gianluca Benigno on the Basics and Policy Functionality of R** and the Dollar's Imperial Circle

Gianluca Benigno is a professor of economics at the University of Lausanne and was formerly a senior staffer and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, an economist at the Bank of England, and worked at the London School of Economics. Gianluca joins Macro Musings to talk about financial conditions in r**, his work on *The Dollar's Imperial Circle,* and more. David and Gianluca also discuss the importance of liquidity in a New Keynesian framework, the origins and purpose of the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, the "Global Financial Resource Curse," and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode Gianluca's Twitter: @BenignoGianluca Gianluca's website David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *The Dollar's Imperial Circle* by Gianluca Benigno, Ozge Akinci, Serra Pelin, and Jon Turek *The Financial (In)Stability Real Interest Rate, R*** by Gianluca Benigno, Ozge Akinci, Marco Del Negro, and Albert Queralto *Interest, Reserves, and Prices* by Gianluca Benigno and Pierpaolo Benigno *The Financial Resource Curse* by Gianluca Benigno and Luca Fornaro *The Global Financial Resource Curse* by Gianluca Benigno, Luca Fornaro and Martin Wolf
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May 22, 2023 • 55min

Dan McDowell on *Bucking the Buck: US Financial Sanctions and the International Backlash Against the Dollar*

Dan McDowell is an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, and he is the author of a new book titled, *Bucking the Buck: US Financial Sanctions and the International Backlash Against the Dollar.* Dan joins Macro Musings to talk about this new book and the prospects for de-dollarization around the world. David and Dan also discuss the mechanics and effectiveness of financial sanctions, the renminbi as a rival to the dollar, Russia and Turkey as case studies, and more. Transcript for this week's episode Dan's Twitter: @daniel_mcdowell Dan's website Dan's Syracuse University profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Bucking the Buck: US Financial Sanctions and the International Backlash against the Dollar* by Dan McDowell *What's Driving Dollar Doomsaying?* by Paul Krugman *Renminbi's Share of Trade Finance Doubles Since Start of Ukraine War* by Hudson Lockett and Cheng Leng
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5 snips
May 15, 2023 • 51min

Jeanna Smialek on *Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes on a New Age of Crisis*

Jeanna Smialek is a reporter who covers the Federal Reserve and the economy for the New York Times, and is the author of a new book titled, *Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes On a New Age of Crisis.* Jeanna is also a returning guest to Macro Musings and rejoins the podcast to talk about her book and its implications for the future of the Federal Reserve system. David and Jeanna also discuss the credit allocation vs. liquidity support debate, the Fed's definition of price stability, the Bank Term Funding Program, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode Jeanna's Twitter: @jeannasmialek Jeanna's New York Times profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes on a New Age of Crisis* by Jeanna Smialek
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May 8, 2023 • 1h 8min

Nathan Tankus on the Future of MMT and How to Avoid U.S. Debt Default

Nathan Tankus is a popular writer for a newsletter titled, *Notes on the Crises* and is the research director of the Modern Money Network. Nathan is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins the podcast to talk about modern monetary theory and the debt ceiling. Specifically, David and Nathan discuss the future of MMT, the case for minting the trillion dollar coin, the prospects of issuing Federal Reserve securities, the history of the Fed's operating procedures, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode Nathan's Twitter: @NathanTankus Nathan's Substack, Notes on the Crises Nathan's Modern Money Network profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *The New Monetary Policy: Reimagining Demand Management and Price Stability in the 21st Century* by Nathan Tankus *Federal Reserve Issued Securities: Not Such A Crazy Idea After All* by Nathan Tankus *The Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Operating Procedures Have Come Full Circle: What Does That Mean for the Post-SVB FOMC Meeting?* by Nathan Tankus *An MMT Response on What Causes Inflation* by Nathan Tankus, Rohan Grey, and Scott Fulwiler *Issues Raised by the Credit Crunch and Global Recession* by Janet Yellen
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May 1, 2023 • 48min

Brian Sack on the Fed's Balance Sheet and How to Improve the Floor Operating System

Brian Sack was recently the Director of Global Economics at the D.E. Shaw Group, and prior to that, he was the manager of the System Open Market Account or SOMA and the head of the Markets Group at the New York Federal Reserve bank, where he managed the Fed's balance sheet. Brian joins Macro Musings to talk about the central bank's balance sheet, its operating system, and his work at the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee. Specifically, David and Brian discuss the current state of the Fed's balance sheet, Brian's theory of QE, how to improve the effectiveness of the floor system, and a lot more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Brian's LinkedIn profile Brian's Google Scholar archive David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here! Related Links: *Monetary Policy with Abundant Liquidity: A New Operating Framework for the Federal Reserve* by Joseph Gagnon and Brian Sack *Monetary Policy Alternatives at the Zero Lower Bound: An Empirical Assessment* by Ben Bernanke, Vincent Reinhart, and Brian Sack
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Apr 24, 2023 • 55min

Mark Calabria on *Shelter From the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted*

Mark Calabria was the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and prior to that, he was formerly a chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence. Mark is also a previous guest of Macro Musings, and he rejoins the podcast to talk about his new book titled, Shelter From the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted. Specifically, David and Mark discuss Mark's time as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the relief programs his agency ushered through during the peak of the COVID crisis, the history and handling of Fannie and Freddie, and a lot more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Mark's Twitter: @MarkCalabria Mark's Cato Institute profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here! Related Links: *Shelter From the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted* by Mark Calabria
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Apr 19, 2023 • 19min

BONUS: George Hall on Financing World War II and Managing Post-War Debt

George Hall is a professor of economics at Brandeis University, and was formerly an economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. In this bonus segment from the previous conversation, George rejoins the podcast to talk about how the US handled the surge in debt resulting from World War II, how COVID changed government financing, his thoughts on the debt ceiling crisis, and more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. George's Twitter: @George_J_Hall George's Brandeis profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here! Related Links: *Brief History of US Debt Limits Before 1939* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent *Financing Big US Federal Expenditures Surges: COVID-19 and Earlier US Wars* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent *Debt and Taxes in Eight U.S. Wars and Two Insurrections* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent
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5 snips
Apr 17, 2023 • 50min

George Hall on the History of the U.S. National Debt and Government Financing

George Hall is a professor of economics at Brandeis University, and was formerly an economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. George has written widely on the history of U.S. public finance, and he joins Macro Musings to talk about the history of the U.S. national debt, including the most recent surge resulting from the pandemic. David and George also discuss how a government goes about funding itself, two different models of expenditure financing, the Revolutionary War and Civil War as case studies, and more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. George's Twitter: @George_J_Hall George's Brandeis profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here! Related Links: *Financing Big US Federal Expenditures Surges: COVID-19 and Earlier US Wars* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent *Debt and Taxes in Eight U.S. Wars and Two Insurrections* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent *Three World Wars: Fiscal-monetary Consequences* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent
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5 snips
Apr 10, 2023 • 54min

Bill Nelson on the Fed's Discount Window Lending, the Overnight Reverse Repo Facility, and the Shifting Size of the Fed's Balance Sheet

Bill Nelson is a chief economist and executive vice president of the Bank Policy Institute and was previously 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. He also worked closely with the BIS working groups on the design of liquidity regulations and is a previous guest of the podcast. Bill rejoins Macro Musings to talk about the Fed's balance sheet, and in particular, the impact that the Fed's response to the recent banking turmoil has had on its size, as well as the role being played by the Overnight Reverse Repo Facility. David and Bill also discuss the changes in collateral treatment brought about by the banking crisis, the invocation of 13(3) for the Bank Term Funding Program, the recent volume of discount window lending, and a lot more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Bill's BPI profile BPI's Twitter: @bankpolicy David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here! Related Links: *Why is the Federal Reserve Abetting a Drain of Deposits from Banks?* by Bill Nelson and Greg Baer *I Don't Know Why She Swallowed a Fly* by Bill Nelson *The Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet: Costs to Taxpayers of Quantitative Easing* by Bill Nelson and Andy Levin

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