Macro Musings

Check out David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus for a special 500th episode post! George Hall is a professor of economics at Brandeis University and formerly worked as an economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. George returns to the show to discuss the current fiscal status of the US, how the Big Beautiful Bill will impact the fiscal outlook going forward, the history of running deficits in the US, and much more.  Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 24th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow George on X: @George_J_Hall Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Bumper 00:00:29 - Intro 00:01:55 - Current US Fiscal Status 00:05:45 - What Is Inflation? 00:10:18 - Fiscal Consequences of the US War with COVID 00:23:21 - World War COVID 00:25:05 - Before and After War 00:34:02 - Fi

Ben Harris served in numerous high-ranking roles as a public sector economist and is now the vice president and director of economic studies at the Brooking Institution. In Ben’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the fiscal health of the US government, including the rising primary deficient, the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill, the proposition of stablecoins and AI as a solution to our debt, his love of basketball and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 18th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Ben on X: @econ_harris Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:01 - Ben’s Career 00:05:18 - Fiscal Health of the United States 00:07:57 - Big Beautiful Bill 00:12:15 - Debts and Deficits 00:14:47 - Costs and Risks of the Rising US Debt 00:37:05 - Stablecoins as a

Luis Garicano is a former member of the European Parliament and a professor at the London School of Economics. In Luis’s first appearance on the show he discusses his new book, Crisis Cycle: Challenges, Evolution, and the future of the Euro, the ever-changing landscape of digital money, his suggested reforms to the Euro, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 18th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Luis on X: @lugaricano Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:55 - Future of Money 00:08:46 - Bank Regulation 00:12:51 - Stablecoins 00:23:35 - Crisis Cycle 00:56:05 - Outro

Mark Blyth is a professor of international economics at Brown University. In Mark’s first appearance on the show, he discusses his new book Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers, the concept of angrynomics, a new way to look at price controls, demographic decline, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 4th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Mark on X: @MkBlyth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:50 - Angrynomics 00:03:56 - Motivation for ‘Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers’ 00:08:27 - Five Things They Don’t Tell You About Inflation 00:14:32 - Good, Bad, and Ugly Inflation 00:18:14 - Interest Rates and Inflation 00:21:33 - Price Controls 00:26:13 - Stories About Inflation 00:35:03 - Hyperinflation 00:42:24 - Pandemic Inflation 00:58:00 - Disinflation,

Sam Schulhofer-Wohl is a senior vice president and the senior advisor to President Lorie Logan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Sam returns to the show to discuss recent macroeconomic conferences in the context of changes in the Treasury market and with central bank operating systems around the globe. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on May 27th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Bumper 00:00:20 - Intro 00:01:19 - Monetary Policy Conferences 00:03:15 - Role of Nonbank Institutions in the Treasury and Money Markets 00:07:48 - Central Clearing 00:33:19 - Operating Systems in Central Banks 00:49:52 - Outro

Andy Levin is an advisor to many central banks around the world and professor of economics at Dartmouth College. Andy returns to the show for a special bonus episode to discuss his pervious appearance and accompanying policy brief where he calls for an independent inspector general at the Federal Reserve. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 10th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Intro (00:01:48) – Federal Reserve and an Independent Inspector General (00:06:50) – Palace of Versailles on the Mall (00:16:20) – Accountability of the Fed (00:19:21) – Outro

Sign up for the Bitcoin Policy Summit with our special Macro Musings Discount Code! Matthew Pines is the executive director of the Bitcoin Policy institute. Matthew returns to the show to discuss the future of Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, US stablecoin regulation, geopolitics under Trump, monetary policy at the Fed, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on May 16th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Matthew Pines on X: @Matthew_Pines  Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:54 - Matthew’s Career Path and BPI 00:03:28 - Bitcoin and National Security 00:06:41 - Bitcoin Policy Summit 00:09:24 - State of Crypto Legislation 00:13:13 - Geoeconomics 00:24:17 - The Dollar’s Future 00:31:56 - Stablecoin Use Cases 00:39:29 - Future of Money 00:45:50 - Future of Monetary Pol

 Peter Conti-Brown is a historian and legal scholar of the Federal Reserve System, and an associate professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Sean Vanatta is a senior lecturer in financial history and policy at the University of Glasgow. Peter and Sean join the show to discuss their new book titled: Private Finance, Public Power: A History of Bank Supervision in America, as well as how powerlifting can be analogized in macroeconomics, and the implications of Trump v. Wilcox. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on May 27th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:02 - Powerlifting 00:06:17 - Trump v. Wilcox 00:12:27 - Private Finance, Public Power 00:15:18 - Supervision vs. Regulation 00:22:52 - Banking in the Early Re

George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus at the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute, as well as the author of the new book titled False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933-1947. George returns to the show to discuss the complicated economic history of the Great Depression, how that history has led us to the macro-events of 2008, 2010, and 2020, how we can apply lessons from the Great Depression to macroeconomic policy to the current moment, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on May 13th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow George on X: @GeorgeSelgin Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:25 - Welcoming George Selgin and False Dawn 00:03:25 - Why Another Bo

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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow Daniel on X: @DanielBunn Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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 Reven

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.  Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on April 23th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow Luca on X: @LucaFornaro3 Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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 Automat

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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow Adam on X: @ModeledBehavior Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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 P

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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow Skanda on X: @IrvingSwisher Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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 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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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

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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Kathryn Judge on X: @ProfKateJudge Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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 Le

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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Paul Blustein on X: @PaulBlustein Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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

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 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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) –

Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus 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 Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Scott Lincicome on X: @ScottLincicome Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  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:

Sign up for David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus 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. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on February 13th, 2025 Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Lyman Stone on X: @LymanStoneKY Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Intro (00:02:04) – Lyman Stone’s Career Path (00:04:54) – Demography as a Discipline (00:10:41) – Demographic Decline (00:15:28) – Decline of Marriage (00:32:24) – Degrowthers (00:43:15) – Possible Policy Solutions

Sign up for David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Athanasios Orphanides is a professor at MIT, formerly served at the Federal Reverse for 15 years, and was the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus. In Athanasios’s first appearance of show he discussed real-time monetary policy rules, their implication on the Fed’s framework review, his natural growth target, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on February 18th, 2025 Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our new AI chatbot: the Macro Musebot! Join the new Macro Musings Discord server! Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Substack Announcement (00:00:49) – Intro (00:02:24) – Athanasios’ Career Journey (00:06:08) – Real-Time Policy Rules (00:23:36) – Potential Drawbacks of Monetary Rules (00:28:46) – Natural Growth Targeting Rule (00:37:31)