Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Daniel Bunn on Fiscal Issues Currently Facing the US Government May 26, 2025

Show notes

Daniel Bunn is the president and CEO of the Tax Foundation. In Daniel's first appearance on the show, he discusses the history of tax models, the threat that tariffs make to the US economy, where we currently stand with budget reconciliation, how he would fix the tax code if he was president, and much more.

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

Recorded on May 2nd, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:01) – Daniel's Background and the Tax Foundation

(00:03:35) – Tax Foundation's Model

(00:7:38) – History of Tax Models

(00:14:26) – Fiscal Condition of the United States

(00:19:24) – Tariffs and Revenue

(00:35:55) – Budget Resolution

(00:45:43) – Daniel's Proposed Solutions

(00:49:10) – Outro

Luca Fornaro on Hysteresis, Endogenous Growth, and Aggregate Demand Policies May 19, 2025

Show notes

Luca Fornaro is a senior researcher at CREI and professor at both UPF and the Barcelona School of Economics. In Luca's first appearance on the show, he discusses his expansive work on, hysteresis, stagnation traps, endogenous growth, aggregate demand policies, the medium run, population growth and much more.

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Recorded on April 23th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:00:51) – Luca's Background

(00:03:19) – Hysteresis

(00:7:23) – Why Talk About Hysteresis Now?

(00:10:55) – Stagnation Trap

(00:16:07) – The Medium Run

(00:22:25) – Managing Expectations with Automatic Stabilizers

(00:28:48) – What About Population Growth?

(00:31:47) – The Empirical Side

(00:39:24) – Directing Capital Flows

(00:42:30) – The Scars of Supply Shocks

(00:48:57) – The Nominal GDP Targeting Solution

(00:51:28) – Fiscal Stagnation

(00:59:21) – Outro

Adam Ozimek on Reforming the High-Skilled Immigration Process May 12, 2025

Show notes

Adam Ozimek is the Chief Economist at the Economic Innovation Group. Adam returns to the show to discuss the importance of reforming the high-skilled immigration process, the main bottlenecks with our current green card system, the glory days of economics blogging, how to revitalize the American heartland, Trump's current trade war, and much more.

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

Recorded on April 15th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:00:50) – Blogging Days

(00:02:33) – How to Fix High-Skilled Immigration

(00:27:08) – Busting the Myths

(00:33:58) – Additional Parts of Adam's Immigration Proposal

(00:40:13) – Trump's Trade War

(00:58:25) – Outro

Skanda Amarnath on the Future of the Federal Reserve and its Framework May 05, 2025

Show notes

Skanda Amarnath is the executive director of Employ America. Skanda returns to the show to discuss the standing of Humphrey's Executor, the prospects for the Fed's Framework Review, the case for NGDP Targeting, and much more.

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

Recorded on April 16th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:01) – Humphrey's Executor

(00:12:35) – The Fed's Framework Review

(00:37:18) – Fed's Communication

(00:47:36) – Productivity

(00:59:07) – Outro

Andy Levin on Holding the Fed Accountable Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

Andy Levin is a professor of economics at Dartmouth College and longtime advisor to many central banks. Andy returns to the show to discuss his policy brief on holding the Fed accountable for its spending practices.

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

Recorded on April 9th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:00:50) – Andy's Professional Background

(00:02:07) – Overstaffed or Overworked?

(00:04:09) – The Fed's Extraordinary Independence

(00:10:10) – Inspector Generals and the Fed

(00:20:33) – The Fed's Workers and Payroll

(00:37:35) – Updates to the Fed's Headquarters

(00:48:24) – Other Fed Challenges

(00:56:26) – How to Improve the Fed

(00:58:24) – Outro

Kathryn Judge on the Importance of Emergency Lending Facilities at the Federal Reserve Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

Kathryn Judge is a law professor at Columbia University and a legal scholar of the Federal Reserve and financial policy. Kathryn returns to the show to discuss the Fed's Emergency Lending Facilities, or 13(3) and current happenings at the Federal Reserve.

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

Recorded on March 27th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:43) – History of Section 13(3)

(00:03:55) – Increasing Use of 13(3)

(00:06:55) – Unusual and Exigent Circumstances

(00:08:53) – Changes to 13(3)

(00:13:17) – Classification of the Facilities

(00:21:13) – Should the Fed Be Doing Emergency Lending?

(00:25:42) – Feature or Bug?

(00:33:19) – Fed Independence

(00:47:45) – Regionalism of the Fed

(00:55:23) – Outro

Paul Blustein on the Rise, Dominance, and Current Challenges to King Dollar Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

Paul Blustein is a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal journalist who has authored several acclaimed books on global economic institutions. In Paul's first appearance on the show, he discusses the historical rise of the dollar, it's present-day power, how it compares to other global currencies, current challenges to its power, the rise of crypto, and much more.

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

Recorded on March 26th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:00:52) – Paul's Books

(00:05:08) – Motivations for King Dollar

(00:09:02) – History of the Dollar

(00:12:57) – Nixon Shock of 1971

(00:23:36) – Paul Volcker

(00:33:14) – Dollar Dominance and Statecraft

(00:40:46) – What About the Euro?

(00:44:42) – Cryptocurrency as a Rival to the Dollar

(00:47:54) – Drawbacks of Dollar Dominance

(00:57:03) – Outro

Bill Nelson on the Future of Central Bank Operating Systems Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

Bill Nelson is a Chief economist and an executive vice president at the Bank Policy Institute. Bill returns to the show to discuss the changes at many central banks around the world from a supply-driven floor system to a demand-driven floor system and how the Fed has been resistant to this change.

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

Recorded on March 6th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:35) – Trend Toward a Demand-Driven Ceiling System

(00:07:32) – Will the Fed Follow Suit?

(00:13:11) – Bank of England's New Policy Implementation Framework

(00:21:33) – Bill's Suggestions for the Fed's Implementation Framework

(00:39:18) – Responding to Lorie's Case for the Floor System

(00:59:11) – Outro

Scott Lincicome on the Trump Trade War Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

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Scott Lincicome is the vice president of general economics and trade at Cato. Scott returns to the program to discuss the past, present, and future of Trump's trade war, the impact of tariffs on the US consumer, myths about globalization, the state of globalization worldwide, and much more.

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

Recorded on March 19th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:01) – Cato's Trade Center

(00:04:06) – Current State of Trump's Trade War

(00:14:09) – Trade War Strategy

(00:20:48) – Break in the Globalization Trend

(00:29:51) – Bilateral Trade Deficit View

(00:54:01) – Comparative Advantage

(01:00:30) – How to Support Free Trade

(001:01:44) – Outro

Lyman Stone on Demographic and Marriage Decline Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

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Lyman Stone is a demographer and the director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies. In Lyman's first appearance on the show, he discusses demographic and marriage decline, the fallacy in the thinking of degrowthers, the benefits of pronatalist policy, and much more.

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Recorded on February 13th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro