Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Mike Konczal is a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute where he works on financial reform, unemployment, inequality, and a progressive vision of the economy. He has also recently co-authored a paper with J.W. Mason titled, "A New Direction for the Federal Reserve: Expanding the Monetary Policy Toolkit." Today, Mike joins the show to discuss the progress of financial regulation, the Federal Reserve's performance over the past decade, and new tools the Fed could utilize to better stabilize the economy in the present and future. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Mike Konczal's Twitter: @rortybomb Mike Konczal and J.W. Mason's Paper: http://rooseveltinstitute.org/expanding-monetary-policy-toolkit/

Neel Kashkari is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Ron Feldman is the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Today, they join the show to describe the Minneapolis Plan to End Too Big to Fail, the Minneapolis Fed's proposal to end the problem of systemic risk to the economy posed by excessively large financial institutions. Neel also shares his thoughts on improving Fed transparency and monetary policy. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, we had some audio problems during the recording, but because this conversation is so important and interesting we wanted to bring it you anyway. And, if you prefer, we've also made a transcript, which is linked to below. Transcript of today's conversation https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts/neel-kashkari-ron-feldman-minneapolis-plan-monetary-policy-reform *The Minneapolis Plan to End Too Big to Fail* https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/special-studies/endingtbtf Neel Kashkari's Twitter: @neelkashkari Ron Feldman's Twiiter: @ronjfeldman Minneapolis Fed's Twitter: @MinneapolisFed Neel Kashkari's Medium: https://medium.com/@neelkashkari David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Ángel Ubide is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and formerly was a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new book *The Paradox of Risk: Leaving the Monetary Policy Comfort Zone.* Ángel argues that the Federal Reserve has become too afraid to take risks when implementing new policies. Instead, he offers alternative proposals aimed to move monetary policy out of its comfort zone. David and Ángel also discuss the Eurozone crisis, the ECB, and using more effective communication, accountability, and greater transparency to minimize biases within monetary policy. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Ángel Ubide's Twitter: @AngelUbide Ángel Ubide's book: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-paradox-of-risk/9780881327199 "The Latest Central Bank Fad: Asymmetric Inflation Targeting" by David Beckworth(Bull's Eye images of symmetric and asymmetric targets) http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-latest-central-bank-fad-asymmetric.html

Jesse Eisinger is a senior reporter and editor at ProPublica as well as a Pulitzer Prize winner. Today, he joins the show to discuss his new book *The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives.* Jesse argues that in recent years, the U.S. Justice Department has become excessively timid in prosecuting white collar crime on Wall Street and in the financial sector. David and Jesse discuss why this is a problem for the rule of law as well as some ways to reform the system. [To rate and review this podcast, go to: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/macro…d1099277290?mt=2 Then, leave your information at: www.mercatus.org/macromusings ] David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Jesse Eisinger's Pro Publica Profile: https://www.propublica.org/people/jesse-eisinger Jesse Eisinger's Twitter: @eisingerj Related links: *The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives* http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Chickenshit-Club/Jesse-Eisinger/9781501121364

Sarah Binder is a professor of Political Science at George Washington University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She research focuses on Congress, Congressional development, and political parties. Mark is the founder and chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital LLC, and formerly was with the World Bank. Today, they join the show to discuss the history and politics behind the creation of the Fed as well as their new book, *The Myth of Independence: How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve.* [To rate an review this podcast, go to: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/macro…d1099277290?mt=2 Then, leave your information at: www.mercatus.org/macromusings ] David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Sarah Binder's Brookings profile: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/sarah-a-binder/ Sarah Binder's Twitter: @bindersab Mark Spindel's Twitter: @potomac Related links: *The Myth of Independence: How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve* by Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11123.html

Mike Bird is a reporter for *The Wall Street Journal* and covers global economics and markets from the Journal's London office. Today, he joins the show to discuss recent developments in central banking across the world. David and Mike discuss how the Eurozone has dealt with some of the serious turmoil it has faced in recent years as well as Japan's "Abenomics" program geared toward raising inflation and implementing structural reforms. Finally, Mike shares his thoughts on the Fed's plan to reduce its balance sheet and what impact that will have on the global economy. [To rate an review this podcast, go to: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/macro-musings/id1099277290?mt=2 Then, leave your information at: https://www.mercatus.org/macromusings ] David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Mike Bird's WSJ archive: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/8326 Mike Bird's Twitter: @Birdyword Related links: "ECB Taper Promises to Set Off Ripples Across Many Markets" by Mike Bird https://www.wsj.com/articles/ecb-stimulus-unwind-could-have-broad-knock-on-effect-1508670002 "A Decade After the Crisis, King Dollar is the World's Tyrant" by Mike Bird https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-decade-after-the-crisis-king-dollar-is-the-worlds-tyrant-1511697601

(REBROADCAST EPISODE) In this week's special episode, David compares and contrasts the economics of the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. He is joined by Zachary Feinstein, an Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and Manu Saadia, author of *Trekonomics.* Topics include the economic fallout from the destruction of the Death Star, the absence of money in Star Trek, and whether a universe can really eliminate scarcity. Original episode: https://soundcloud.com/macro-musings/feinsteinsaadia David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David's Twitter: @davidbeckworth Manu's *Trekonomics* website: trekonomics.tumblr.com/ (you can order the book, *Trekonomics,* here as well) Manu's Twitter: @trekonomics Zach's faculty profile: sites.wustl.edu/fictionomics/ Zach's Twitter: @FictionomicsWU Related links: "It's a Trap: Emperor Palpatine's Poison Pill" by Zachary Feinstein arxiv.org/pdf/1511.09054.pdf "The Case for the Empire" by Jonathan Last www.weeklystandard.com/the-case-for-…/article/2540

(REBROADCAST EPISODE) In this week's special episode, David discusses the economics of Christmas with Laura Birg, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Goettingen, and Anna Goeddke, a professor of economics at the ESB Business School at Reutlingen University. Topics include the dead-weight loss of gift-giving, Christmas' effects on seasonal GDP, increases in alcohol consumption, and the effect of secularization on Christmas celebrations. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ David's Twitter: @davidbeckworth Original episode: https://soundcloud.com/macro-musings/birggoeddeke Anna's VoxEU profile: voxeu.org/users/annagoeddeke0 Anna's Twitter: @annagoeddeke Laura's University of Goettingen profile: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/362254.html Related links: "Christmas Economics – A Sleigh Ride" by Laura Birg and Anna Goeddke (2014) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?a…stract_id=2526055 "The Seasonal Cycle and the Business Cycle" by Robert Barsky and Jeffrey Miron (1988) www.nber.org/papers/w2688 "The Business Cycle Effects of Christmas" by YI Wen (2001) www.discuto.io/sites/default/fil…christmas2010.pdf We Wish you a Merry Christmas Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ricardo Caballero, an MIT economics professor, discusses the 'Safe Asset Shortage Conundrum' with a focus on the US as a global financial intermediary. They explore solutions to address the scarcity of safe assets, including central bank interventions and asset transformation. The conversation also delves into the sustainability of current account deficits and Australia's economy, touching on topics like real estate markets and sovereign wealth funds.

Stephen Williamson is a professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario and formerly served as a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Today, Steve joins the show to discuss his work on "New Monetarism," a research agenda emerging out of the monetarist tradition associated with Milton Friedman. David and Steve also discuss "Neo-Fisherism," a counterintuitive view that higher interest rates may actually lead to higher inflation. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Stephen Williamson's University of Western Ontario profile: http://economics.uwo.ca/people/faculty/williamson.html Stephen Williamson's blog "New Monetarism": http://newmonetarism.blogspot.com/ Stephen Williamson's Twitter: @1954swilliamson Related links: "New Monetarist Economics: Models* by Stephen D. Williamson and Randall Wright https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/sr/sr443.pdf "Neo-Fisherism: A Radical Idea, or the Most Obvious Solution to the Low-Inflation Problem?" by Stephen D. Williamson https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/july-2016/neo-fisherism-a-radical-idea-or-the-most-obvious-solution-to-the-low-inflation-problem *Macroeconomics* by Stephen D. Williamson https://www.amazon.com/Macroeconomics-5th-Stephen-D-Williamson/dp/0132991330