Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Latest Episodes:

Jeffry Frieden on the Rise of Populism, Labor Mobility, and the Eurozone Jul 01, 2019

Show notes

Jeffry Frieden is a professor of government at Harvard University where he specializes in the politics of international monetary and financial relations. Jeff is the author of many articles and books including *Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy* and *Lost Decades: The Making of America's Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery*. He joins the show today to talk about some of his work. David and Jeff also explore what has led to the recent rise in populism across the nation, the difficulty of interregional labor mobility and its economic effects, and current issues within the Eurozone.

Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/07012019/rise-populism-labor-mobility-and-eurozone

Jeff's Twitter: @jafrieden

Jeff's Harvard profile: https://scholar.harvard.edu/jfrieden

Related Links:

*Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy* by Jeffry Frieden

https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10364.html

*Lost Decades: The Making of America's Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery* by Jeffry Frieden

https://scholar.harvard.edu/jfrieden/publications/lost-decades-making-americas-debt-crisis-and-long-recovery

*Populism in Place: The Economic Geography of the Globalization Backlash* by J. Lawrence Broz, Jeffry Frieden, and Stephen Weymouth

https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jfrieden/files/populism_in_place_v1.3_0.pdf

*Wall Street is Desperate for Wonks Who Can Explain the Rise of Populism* by Craig Torres

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-04/wall-street-is-desperate-for-wonks-who-can-explain-the-rise-of-populism

*Why Has Regional Income Convergence in the U.S. Declined?* by Peter Ganong and Daniel Shoag

https://www.nber.org/papers/w23609

*Going to Extremes: Politics After Financial Crises, 1870-2014* by Manuel Funke, Moritz Schularick, and Christoph Trebesch

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2688897

David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Salim Furth on Land Use Regulations, the Rise of NIMBYism, and Options for Reform Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Salim Furth is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center where he studies regional, urban, and macroeconomic trends and policies. Salim joins the show today to talk about some of his work on housing supply in the United States and its implications for policy. David and Salim also discuss the problems that arise from rigid zoning laws, the rise of NIMBYism, and possible ways to conduct regulatory zoning reform.

Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/06242019/land-use-regulations-rise-nimbyism-and-options-reform

Salim's Twitter: @salimfurth

Salim's Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/people/salim-furth

Related Links:

*Housing Supply in the 2010s* by Salim Furth

https://www.mercatus.org/publications/state-and-local-regulations/housing-supply-2010s

*Do Minimum-Lot-Size Regulations Limit Housing Supply in Texas?* by Nolan Gray and Salim Furth

https://www.mercatus.org/publications/urban-economics/do-minimum-lot-size-regulations-limit-housing-supply-texas

*The Link Between Local Zoning Policy and Housing Affordability in America's Cities* by Kevin Erdmann, Salim Furth, and Emily Hamilton

https://www.mercatus.org/publications/urban-economics/link-between-local-zoning-policy-and-housing-affordability-america%E2%80%99s

David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Sam Bell and Skanda Amarnath on Gross Labor Income Targeting Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

Sam Bell and Skanda Amarnath are a part of a new organization called Employ America, a new research and advocacy organization that aims to get better labor market outcomes. Sam is also known on "FOMC Twitter" as an influencer when it comes to nominations for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Skanda is a former hedge fund economist and New York Federal Reserve research economist. Sam and Skanda join the show today to talk about gross labor income targeting and the future path of Federal Reserve policy.

Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/06172019/sam-bell-and-skanda-amarnath-gross-labor-income-targeting

Sam's Twitter: @sam_a_bell

Skanda's Twitter: @IrvingSwisher

About Employ America: https://employamerica.org/about/

Related Links:

*Floor It! Fixing the Fed's Framework with Paychecks, Not Prices* by Skanda Amarnath

https://medium.com/@skanda_97974/floor-it-fixing-the-feds-framework-with-paychecks-not-prices-78171423e9c1

*The Quick and Dirty Case for Cutting 50bps at the June 2019 FOMC Meeting* by Skanda Amarnath

https://medium.com/@skanda_97974/the-quick-and-dirty-case-for-cutting-50bps-at-the-june-2019-fomc-meeting-c0e06616f0ad

*Fed Inches Toward Rate Cut as Trade War Frays Patience* by Christopher Condon and Steve Matthews

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-05/fed-inches-toward-rate-cut-as-trump-s-trade-war-frays-patience

David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Daniel Griswold on the USMCA, Tariffs, and the US Trade War Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

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

Mike Bird on Japanese Monetary Policy, Yield Curve Control, and the US-China Trade War Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

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

Robert Samuelson on the Great Inflation, Its History and Its Legacy May 27, 2019

Show notes

Robert Samuelson is an economics columnist for the Washington Post and spent several decades working at Newsweek, where he wrote on various economic topics. Robert is the author of several books, including *The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement* and *The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence*. He joins the show today to talk about the latter and its implications for today. David and Robert go in-depth about the Great Inflation, as they discuss the disagreement within macroeconomics during the 60s and 70s, the history and significance of the period, and how Ronald Reagan and Paul Volcker sought to end the inflation.

Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/05282019/great-inflation-its-history-and-its-legacy

Robert's Washington Post profile & bio: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/robert-j-samuelson/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6e300b47761d

Related Links:

*The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence* by Robert J. Samuelson

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/160295/the-great-inflation-and-its-aftermath-by-robert-j-samuelson/9780812980042/

*The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement* by Robert J. Samuelson

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/160294/the-good-life-and-its-discontents-by-robert-samuelson/9780679781523/

David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

Dylan Matthews on Nine Ways to Prevent Future Recessions May 20, 2019

Show notes

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

Robert Graboyes on Monetary History of Small Coins May 13, 2019

Show notes

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

David Andolfatto on a Standing Repo Facility, Safe Asset Shortage, and the Fed's Low Inflation Problem May 06, 2019

Show notes

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.

Alexandra Scaggs on Bond Markets, the Treasury Yield Curve, and MMT Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

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