

Macro Musings with David Beckworth
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 10, 2019 • 59min
Daniel Griswold on the USMCA, Tariffs, and the US Trade War
Daniel Griswold is a research fellow and co-director of the Trade and Immigration Project at the Mercatus Center. Dan is a nationally recognized expert on trade and immigration policy and is a returning guest to Macro Musings. He joins the show today to help get us up to speed on the latest developments in issues on the ever-expanding US trade war with the rest of the world. David and Dan also discuss the USMCA, the negative aspects and seriousness of the trade war, and US intellectual property disputes with China. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/06112019/usmca-tariffs-and-us-trade-war Dan's Twitter: @DanielGriswold Dan's Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/daniel-griswold Dan's blog: https://madabouttrade.com/ Related Links: *Trump's China Trade War Meets the Retailpocalypse* by Felix Salmon https://www.axios.com/us-china-trade-war-retail-apocalypse-50f85f2a-e287-4f22-936c-ef1c39c8897c.html *The Impact of the 2018 Trade War on U.S. Prices and Welfare* by Mary Amiti, Stephen J. Redding, David Weinstein https://www.nber.org/papers/w25672 David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Jun 3, 2019 • 1h 1min
Mike Bird on Japanese Monetary Policy, Yield Curve Control, and the US-China Trade War
Mike Bird is a Hong Kong based reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering financial markets across Asia, and he previously worked in the Journal's London bureau. Mike is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he joins the show today to talk about some recent developments in the Asian economies. More specifically, David and Mike discuss Japan's activist monetary policy, yield curve control, and recent events within the Chinese economy. Transcript for the episode: (coming soon) Mike's Twitter: @birdyword Mike's Wall Street Journal profile: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/mike-bird Related Links: *Japan Is Giving Up on Activist Monetary Policy* by Mike Bird https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-is-giving-up-on-activist-monetary-policy-11556271835 *The Fed Would Struggle to Match Japan's Bond Market Control* by Mike Bird https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-would-struggle-to-match-japans-bond-market-control-11557480894 David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

May 27, 2019 • 57min
Robert Samuelson on the Great Inflation, Its History and Its Legacy
Economics columnist Robert Samuelson discusses the Great Inflation era, its historical significance, and the actions taken by Reagan and Volcker to combat inflation. They explore the clash of Keynesianism and monetarism, wage price controls, and the enduring impact on American attitudes and policies.

May 20, 2019 • 58min
Dylan Matthews on Nine Ways to Prevent Future Recessions
Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent with Vox where he covers a wide array of topics including immigration policy, universal basic income, education policy, effective altruism, animal welfare, and global development. Dylan is one of Vox's original founders and he has also previously worked for Wonkblog at the Washington Post. He joins the show today to discuss one of his most recent articles on business cycles, titled *The Government Failed to Stop the Last Recession. It Can Prevent the Next One*, as well as some of his other work on the subject. David and Dylan also discuss recessions at length, exploring what we know about them, why we should worry about them, and outlining 9 potential policy options to help prevent recessions in the future. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/05202019/nine-ways-prevent-future-recessions Dylan's Twitter: @dylanmatt Dylan's Vox profile: https://www.vox.com/authors/dylan Related Links: *Why I Gave My Kidney to a Stranger – and Why You Should Consider Doing it too* by Dylan Matthews https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/4/11/12716978/kidney-donation-dylan-matthews *The Government Failed to Stop the Last Recession. It Can Prevent the Next One* by Dylan Matthews https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/3/29/18279205/recession-unemployment-inverted-yield-curve-stimulus-policy David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

May 13, 2019 • 57min
Robert Graboyes on Monetary History of Small Coins
Robert Graboyes is a senior research fellow and health economist at the Mercatus Center and has formerly worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Chase Manhattan Bank. Robert joins the show today to talk about monetary history and specifically the history of small coins. David and Robert also discuss a number of different coins and the history surrounding them, ranging from civil war tokens to early Roman currencies. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/05132019/robert-graboyes-monetary-history-small-coins Robert's Twitter: @Robert_Graboyes Robert's Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/robert-graboyes Related Links: *Anticipations of the General Theory?* by Don Patinkin https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo5964857.html *Notre-Dame and the Myth of Timelessness* By Robert Graboyes https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/notre-dame-and-myth-timelessness Coins discussed during the interview: 20th century token from Kopper's Stores, a coal mine company store in West Virginia: https://i.imgur.com/T6wBLX7.jpg A coin from Diocletian: https://i.imgur.com/9wZCdj2.jpg Groat (four pence) piece from Henry VII: https://i.imgur.com/bkxbK8j.jpg U.S. Trade Dollar, designed specifically for use only in the Orient: https://i.imgur.com/cXPNwr6.jpg Civil War token, used as private coinage during the wartime inflation and metal shortage: https://i.imgur.com/HzLlIAb.jpg Trade token, origin unknown: https://i.imgur.com/3LFt03B.jpg David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

May 6, 2019 • 60min
David Andolfatto on a Standing Repo Facility, Safe Asset Shortage, and the Fed's Low Inflation Problem
David Andolfatto is a vice president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and is published widely in the field of monetary economics. He also blogs at MacroMania, and has recently published on issues such as the zero lower bound, the symmetry of the Fed's inflation target, a new standing repo facility, and MMT. David is a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he joins the show today to talk about these issues. David and David also discuss the safe asset shortage, average and flexible inflation targeting, and the legal, political, and economic restraint surrounding negative interest rates. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/05062019/safe-assets-symmetric-inflation-and-mmt David Andolfatto's Twitter: @dandolfa David Andolfatto's blog: http://andolfatto.blogspot.com/ Related Links: *Is Low Inflation Really a Mystery?* by David Beckworth https://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2019/04/is-low-inflation-really-mystery.html *Why the Fed Should Create a Standing Repo Facility* by David Andolfatto and Jane Ihrig https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2019/march/why-fed-create-standing-repo-facility David Beckworth's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Disclaimer: Anything that David Andolfatto says reflects his own personal views and not the views of the Federal Reserve.

Apr 29, 2019 • 52min
Alexandra Scaggs on Bond Markets, the Treasury Yield Curve, and MMT
Alexandra Scaggs is a senior writer at Barron's covering financial markets with a special emphasis on bond markets, and she previously wrote news and commentary for the Financial Times and for Bloomberg. Alexandra joins the show today to talk about the current state of bond markets and what it means for the economy. David and Alexandra also discuss corporate debt, the inversion of the treasury yield curve, and the lasting impact of the modern monetary theory debate. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/04292019/bond-markets-and-macroeconomics Alexandra's Twitter: @alexandrascaggs Alexandra's Barron's profile: https://www.barrons.com/authors/8576 Related Links: *Negative-Yielding Bonds Top $9 Trillion as Growth Worries Return* by Adam Haigh https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-14/negative-yielding-bonds-top-9-trillion-as-growth-worries-return David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Apr 22, 2019 • 58min
Andrew Park on the Implications of Collateralized Loan Obligations
Andrew Park is a senior editor at S&P LCD and is one of the foremost experts on collateralized loan obligations and the leverage loan market. Andrew also writes daily on what's going on in the collateralized loan obligations (CLO) market and his data is the basis for most of the reporting on this topic in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and by many policymakers. He joins the show today to talk about CLOs and their implications for the financial system and, more generally, the economy. David and Andrew also discuss the leveraged loan market, the differences between CDOs and CLOs, and the Fed's most recent rate hikes. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/04222019/andrew-park-loans-financial-system-and-economy Andrew's Twitter: @apark_ Andrew's Forbes profile & archive: https://www.forbes.com/sites/spleverage/people/andrewparksp/#18bc9eb1102d Related Links: *Wall Street's Billionaire Machine, Where Almost Everyone Gets Rich* by Tom Metcalf, Tom Maloney, Sally Bakewell, and Christopher Cannon https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-collateralized-loan-obligations/ *U.S. Leveraged Loan Market: Plenty of Risk, But Not Systemic* by Beth MacLean https://www.pimco.com/en-us/insights/viewpoints/us-leveraged-loan-market-plenty-of-risk-but-not-systemic/ David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

4 snips
Apr 15, 2019 • 57min
Eric Lonergan on Helicopter Drops and How to Improve Monetary Policy
Eric Lonergan is macro hedge fund manager, and economist, and a writer. He has written for Foreign Affairs, the Financial Times, and has authored the book *Money (The Art of Living)*. More recently, Eric has also co-authored a new book called *Angrynomics*. He joins the show today to talk about how to improve policymakers' responses to recessions. David and Eric also discuss helicopter drops, dual interest rates, and how governments can make monetary policy more direct. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/04152019/how-respond-recessions Eric's Twitter: @ericlonners Eric's blog: https://www.philosophyofmoney.net/blog/ Related Links: *Money: The Art of Living* by Eric Lonergan https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/money/486535FC2BE6ADB342A82A668584AE71 *Fixing the Euro Zone and Reducing Inequality, Without Fleecing the Rich* by Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth https://hbr.org/2015/01/fixing-the-euro-zone-and-reducing-inequality-without-fleecing-the-rich David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Apr 8, 2019 • 60min
Yair Listokin on the Convergence of Law and Macroeconomics
Yair Listokin is a professor of law at Yale Law School and is the author of a new book titled, *Law and Macroeconomics*. He joins the show today to talk about the book as well as some of his new work. David and Yair also discuss sovereign wealth funds, the legal limits of central banks, and how to expand fiscal policy while making it more effective. Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/04082019/law-and-macroeconomics Yair's Yale Law School profile: https://law.yale.edu/yair-listokin Related Links: *Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions* by Yair Listokin http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976054 David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth


