Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Latest Episodes:

Raghuram Rajan on the Impact of the Ratcheting Effect of The Fed's QE Program Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

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Raghuram Rajan is a finance professor at the University of Chicago and leads the Group of 30. Previously he was the chief economist at the IMF and the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. In Raghuram's first appearance on the show, he discusses his famous 2005 Jackson Hole speech, how he righted the ship on India's emerging economy, the consequences of zero-sum thinking, the differences between being a policymaker and an academic, the ratcheting effect of QE on the Fed's balance sheet, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 20th, 2026

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:58 - Raghu's Career

00:22:20 - Policymaker Versus Academic

00:29:00 - Ratcheting Effect of Quantitative Easing

01:01:06 - Outro

Andrew Martinez on the Art of Forecasting Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

Andrew Martinez is a former Treasure economist and currently is an assistant professor of economics at American University. In Andrew's first appearance on the show, he discusses his career as a forecaster, the current state of forecasting, the intersection of AI and forecasting, the role of the SEP and monetary policy surprises, his work with David on the NGDP Gap measure, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 13th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:20 - Andrew's Career

00:08:36 - State of Forecasting

00:20:19 - AI and Forecasting

00:29:34 - The SEP and Monetary Policy Surprises

00:41:07 - Nominal GDP/Expectations Gap

00:54:56 - Outro

Dan Awrey on the Future of the U.S. Payments System in a Digital World Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

Dan Awrey is a professor of Law at Cornell University and the author of the new book Beyond Banks: Technology, Regulation, and the Future of Money. Dan returns to the show to discuss his new book, the shadow monetary system, the case for markets to correct this problem, Gresham's new law, his proposals for fixing the payments system, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 13th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:16 - Beyond Banks

00:16:04 - Shadow Monetary System

00:26:07 - Can't Markets Solve Payment Problems?

00:28:16 - Gresham's New Law

00:40:27 - Dan's Proposal for Money and Payments

00:55:51 - Outro

Scott Sumner on Monetary Policy Confusion in Our Current Policy Debates Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

Scott Sumner is the Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair Emeritus of Monetary Policy and the founder of the Monetary Policy Program at Mercatus. Scott returns to the show, to discuss his life post Mercatus, nominal GDP counterfactuals of the pandemic and the Great Financial Crisis, the role of QE in inflation, the fears about Fed independence, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 15th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:34 - Scott's Life Post Mercatus

00:05:28 - Nominal GDP Targeting

00:19:53 - Quantitative Easing

00:38:28 - Fed Framework Review

00:42:36 - Fed Independence

01:04:33 - Outro

Tyler Muir on How to Understand the Fed's Quantitative Easing Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

Tyler Muir is a professor of finance at UCLA. In Tyler's first appearance on the show, he discusses how he became a leading scholar on quantitative easing, what things the Fed can learn in responding to crises, why QE matters, how QE transformed the bond market, the new "Tyler Rule", QE's role in the COVID Pandemic, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 8th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:33 - Tyler's Background

00:08:36 - Financial Crisis and Risk Premium

00:14:40 - Intermediaries and Asset Prices

00:22:18 - QE and Why It Matters

00:28:40 - QE and the Bond Market

00:32:38 - The Tyler Rule

00:37:51 - When Selling Goes Viral

00:41:01 - QE During COVID

00:49:26 - Shrinking the Fed's Balance Sheet

00:55:03 - Outro

Richard Berner on Growth of the Private Credit and the Role of Fiscal Dominance on Treasury Markets Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

Richard Berner is the former director of the Office of Financial Research and was a counselor of the Treasury Secretary. In Richard's first appearance on the show, he discusses a career that included public service and Wall Street, the fragility of global liquidity, the implications of fiscal dominance, the expansion of private credit, the 2023 SVB banking turmoil, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 7th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:57- Dick's Career

00:07:46 - Fragility of Global Liquidity

00:17:29 - Post-GFC Regulations

00:25:29 - Fiscal Dominance

00:36:23 - Private Credit

00:48:09 - Banking Turmoil of 2023

01:01:149 - Outro

Aaron Klein on the US's Real-Time Payments Problem and the Impact of Covid Era Quantitative Easing Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

Aaron Klein is a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. Aaron returns to the show to discuss his paper with George Selgin calling for real time payments, the inequality caused by the Fed's current payment processes, the results of Covid time QE, recommendations for dealing with future crises, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on December 11th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:06- Faster Payments

00:29:09 - Fed Governance

00:30:35 - Quantitative Easing and Housing Inflation Post-COVID

00:52:16 - Fed Assets

01:01:149 - Outro

Per Åsberg Sommar on the State of the Riksbank and Operating Systems Around the World Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

Per Åsberg Sommar is a senior advisor in the markets department at the Swedish central bank. In Per's first appearance on the show, he discusses his career as a central banker, the history of the Riksbank, evolutions in inflation targeting at the Riksbank, changes in the Sweden's central banks operating system, its new tool called the Deposit Requirement Facility, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on December 12th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:08 - Per's Career

00:04:02 - Riksbank

00:09:07 - Inflation Targeting at Riksbank

00:11:56 - Riksbank's Operating System

00:15:39 - Certificate of Deposits

00:33:42 - Quantitative Tightening

00:36:42 - The Deposit Requirement Facility

00:45:38 - Other Central Banks and Demand-Driven Systems

00:58:16 - Outro

2025 Macro Musings Retrospective Dec 29, 2025

Show notes

David Beckworth and producer Sam Alburger dive into the last year of Macro Musings. They discuss David's foray into Substack, their favorite episodes of the year, the most popular episodes of 2025, David's push for NGDP targeting, this year's most hotly contested episode, how the year 2025 will be remembered in macro history, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on December 10th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:16 - Macroeconomic Policy Nexus

00:12:24 - David's All-Star AI FOMC

00:14:46 - Most Entertaining Economist Debate

00:16:46 - Underrated or Favorite Episodes

00:24:30 - Most Popular Episodes

00:26:15 - The Push for Nominal GDP Targeting

00:32:10 - Accountability at the Fed

00:36:23 - Bitcoin Policy Summit

00:40:28 - Macro Musings at the Atlanta Federal Reserve

00:44:32 - Review of 2024 in Macro

00:47:17 - Macro in 2025

00:51:40 - Thank You

00:55:48 - Outro

Veronique de Rugy on the Impending American Fiscal Crisis Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Veronique de Rugy is the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. In Veronique's first appearance on Macro Musings she discusses her career as a think tanker's think tanker, what the difference is between classical liberals and libertarians, how America's mindset has shifted on trade and immigration, the fiscal health of the United States, the US's impending debt crises, solutions for fixing the fiscal health of the United States, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on November 18th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:18 - Vero's Career

00:17:35 - Vero's Career