Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Latest Episodes:

BONUS: Gerard DiPippo on China's Attempts to Infiltrate the Fed Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Gerard DiPippo is a senior fellow with the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, he spent 11 years in the US intelligence community as a deputy national intelligence officer for economic issues at the National Intelligence Council and as a senior economic analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. In this bonus segment from the previous conversation, David and Gerard discuss the recent Senate report which details the Chinese Government's decade-long campaign to infiltrate the US Federal Reserve System. Gerard brings his expertise in both national security and monetary policy to this conversation with David to shed some light on this news story.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Gerard's Twitter: @gdp1985

Gerard's CSIS profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Related Links:

*China Targeted Fed to Build Informant Network and Access Data, Probe Finds* by Kate O'Keeffe and Nick Timiraos

*China targets Fed to Gain Influence, Senator Charges, Drawing Powell Rebuke* by Kate Davidson

*China's Threat to the Fed: Chinese Influence and Information Theft at U.S. Federal Reserve Banks* Minority Staff Report, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Gerard DiPippo on the Russia Sanctions, Demographic Decline, and the Future of the Global Monetary System Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Gerard DiPippo is a senior fellow with the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, he spent 11 years in the US intelligence community as a deputy national intelligence officer for economic issues at the National Intelligence Council and as a senior economic analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. Gerard joins Macro Musings to talk about the Russia Sanctions, the global monetary system, demographics, and other economic issues viewed through the lens of national security. He and David also discuss the lessons from the Russia sanctions, dollar dominance as a disciplinary tool, the implications of global population decline, why economic security means national security, and more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Gerard's Twitter: @gdp1985

Gerard's CSIS profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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*Deterrence First: Applying Lessons From Sanctions on Russia to China* by Gerard DiPippo

*Global Population Growth Hits Lowest Rate Since 1950* by Valentina Romei and Alan Smith

Tom Graff on the July FOMC Meeting and the Recession Debate Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

Tom Graff is the head of investments for Facet Wealth and has several decades leading fixed income departments. Tom joins David on Macro Musings to provide his thoughts on the recent FOMC meeting, the Q2 2022 GDP numbers and their implications for the economy, and the future path of Fed policy. Specifically, David and Tom discuss the recent GDP numbers from Q2 2022, the merits of public concerns over a recession, takeaways from the July FOMC meeting, interest rate theory and implicit forecasts of inflation, the fiscal theory of the price level, the continued importance of the Fed's framework, and much more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Tom's Twitter: @tdgraff

Tom's Facet Wealth profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Related Links:

Real GDP Numbers updated for Q2 2022

Federal Open Market Committee: July 26-27, 2022 FOMC Meeting

Ellen Meade on Transparency, Independence, and Lessons for the Fed's Next Framework Review Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Ellen Meade is a research professor of economics at Duke University and a veteran of the Federal Reserve System. Most recently, Ellen served as a special advisor to the board and Vice Chair, Richard Clarida. Ellen joins David on Macro Musings to discuss her research on monetary policy and her work at the Federal Reserve. Specifically, Ellen and David discuss the prospect of central bank independence at the Fed and the specter of fiscal dominance, the recent history of secrecy and transparency at the Fed and how that impacts the incentives to dissent, the effect of the Fed's forward guidance on recent policy events, what lessons from the past two years the Fed should incorporate into its next framework review, and much more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Ellen's Vox EU profile

Ellen's Research Gate archive

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Related Links:

*The Evolution of Central Bank Governance Around the World* by Ellen E. Meade and Christopher Crowe

*Central Bank Independence and Transparency: Evolution and Effectiveness* by Ellen E. Meade and Christopher Crowe

*Publicity of Debate and the Incentive to Dissent: Evidence from the US Federal Reserve* by Ellen E. Meade and David Stasavage

Randal Quarles on Inflation, Balance Sheet Reduction, Financial Stability, and the Future of the Fed Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Randal Quarles is the executive chairman of the Cynosure Group and the former Vice Chair of Supervision for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Randy also served as an official in the US Department of Treasury, and he joins Macro Musings to talk about his time at the Federal Reserve and his thoughts on current issues facing the institution. David and Randy also discuss how the Fed fell behind the curve on inflation, how he sees the balance sheet reduction process playing out, the central bank's shifting focus toward climate change, and more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Randal's Cynosure profile

Randal's Federal Reserve profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Kathy Jones on the Current Economic Slowdown, Quantitative Tightening, and the Fed's New Framework Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Kathy Jones is managing director and chief fixed income strategist for the Schwab Center for Financial Research, and she has spent many years on Wall Street, covering bond markets and foreign exchange. Kathy joins Macro Musings to talk about the present outlook for the economy, the state of markets, and Fed policy. Specifically, David and Kathy discuss the story behind the recent economic slowdown, why equity markets are behind the recessionary curve, Kathy's sense on QT moving forward, and more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Kathy's Twitter: @KathyJones

Kathy's Charles Schwab profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Michael Dooley on the International Monetary System and Future of Global Dollar Dominance Jul 04, 2022

Show notes

Michael Dooley is a chief economist for Figure Technologies and a 20-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System and the IMF. Michael is also a professor emeritus in the department of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and he joins Macro Musings to talk about the international monetary system and the future of the dollar. Specifically, David and Michael also discuss the original and revised Bretton Woods systems, the Fed's role as a monetary superpower, and what this means for the US as a provider of safe and unsafe assets.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Michael's UC Santa Cruz profile

Michael's NBER archive

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Related Links:

*US Sanctions Reinforce the Dollar's Dominance* by Michael Dooley, David Folkerts-Landau, and Peter Garber

*Exchange Arrangements Entering the 21st Century: Which Anchor Will Hold?* by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen Reinhart, and Kenneth Rogoff

*Dilemma Not Trilemma: The Global Financial Cycle and Monetary Policy Independence* by Helene Rey

*The Global Financial Cycle* by Helene Rey and Silvia Miranda-Agrippino

Brian Knight on the Politicization of Finance Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

Brian Knight is the Director of Innovation and Governance at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Brian's research focuses on numerous aspects of financial regulation, including the creation of pro-innovation regulatory environments, the role of federalism in fintech regulation, the use of digital assets for financial transactions, the role of regulation for credit markets and consumer protection, and the provision of capital to businesses. Brian joins David on Macro Musings to discuss the politicization of finance and its implications for policy. Specifically, Brian and David discuss the concept of reputational risk and its relevance for financial regulation, the extent and limits of ESG concerns in financial regulation, whether financial regulators are too political or not political enough, the present state as well as the future of 'woke capitalism', and much more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Brian's Twitter: @BrianRKnight

Brian's Mercatus profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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*Climate Change is a Risk for Banks but it's Not the Only One* by Brian Knight

*Are Financial Regulators Too Political or Not Political Enough?* by Brian Knight

Lev Menand on *The Fed Unbound: Central Banking in a Time of Crisis* Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

Lev Menand is an associate professor of law at Columbia University Law School and writes widely on legal issues surrounding the Federal Reserve. Lev rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his new book titled, *The Fed Unbound: Central Banking in a Time of Crisis.* Specifically, David and Lev discuss why the Fed can be considered unbound, the history of the Fed's engagement with the shadow banking system, and Lev's solutions for reform.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

Lev's Twitter: @LevMenand

Lev's Columbia Law profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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*Unappropriated Dollars: The Fed's Ad Hoc Lending Facilities and the Rules That Govern Them* by Lev Menand

Macro Lit Review 1: Highlights from Mid-2022 with George Selgin Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. He is also the most frequent guest on Macro Musings, now appearing for his 12th time. In this episode, George and David identify and discuss their top three articles from the past few weeks related to macroeconomics and monetary policy. Specifically, George and Selgin discuss Lael Brainard's recent speech defending the Fed's prospects of issuing central bank digital currency, Janet Yellen's concession about the path that inflation has taken, the governmental accounting of Federal Reserve losses and whether they amount to a net taxpayer burden, why the Dollar remains firm as the dominant currency in global markets, how an orthodox corridor system defaults into a floor system during times of crisis, and much more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

George's Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin

George's Cato profile

David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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*Preparing for the Financial System of the Future* speech by Lael Brainard at the 2022 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum

*What if the Federal Reserve Books Losses Because of its Quantitative Easing?* by Willam B. English and Donald Kohn

*From Burns to Powell*, a Macro Musings podcast episode with Guest Donald Kohn and host David Beckworth

*Treasury Secretary Concedes She Was Wrong on 'Path That Inflation Would Take'* By Kevin Liptak and Paul LeBlanc

*How Monetary Policy Got Behind The Curve And How To Get Back: A Policy Conference* Hoover Institution, Stanford University

*Jack Dorsey is Wrong. The Dollar is Still a Global Reserve Currency* by Mark Copelovitch

*A Model of Credit, Money, Interest, and Prices* by Saki Bigio and Yuliy Sannikov