84 - Nick Bloom on Economic Uncertainty and the Productivity Slowdown

Andy Levin is a professor of economics at Dartmouth University and a former senior staffer at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Christina Parajon Skinner is a legal scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and formerly was legal counsel to the Bank of England. Andy and Christina have co-authored a new article titled, *Central Bank Undersight: Assessing the Fed's Accountability to Congress,* and they rejoin David on Macro Musings to talk about it. Specifically, they discuss the Fed's power under a constitutional authority, the three sources of Fed undersight, proposals for reform, and more. Transcript for this week's episode. Andrew's Twitter: @andrewtlevin Andrew's Dartmouth profile Christina's Twitter: @CParaSkinner Christina's UPenn profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Central Bank Undersight: Assessing the Fed's Accountability to Congress* by Andrew Levin and Christina Parajon Skinner *Andrew Levin on the Costs and Benefits of QE4 and the Future of the Fed's Balance Sheet* by Macro Musings

25 Maalis 202454min

Anat Admati is a professor of finance and economics at Stanford University and is the coauthor of the 2013 book, *The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking and What to Do About It.* Anat is also a returning guest to Macro Musings and she rejoins the podcast to talk about the 2024 expanded edition of the same book, as well as the most recent developments in banking. David and Anat also discuss the effectiveness of post-financial crisis regulations, the design and impact of Basel III Endgame, the fallout from the most recent regional banking crisis, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode. Anat's Twitter: @anatadmati Anat's Stanford profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking and What to Do About It – New and Expanded Edition* by Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig *The Parade of Bankers' New Clothes Continues: 34 Flawed Claims Debunked* by Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig *Anat Admati on Debt, Equity, and Financial Instability* by Macro Musings *Anat Admati on the Perils of Corporate Debt and How COVID-19 Relief Efforts Have Gone Wrong* by Macro Musings *Why the Innocent Plead Guilty and the Guilty Go Free: And Other Paradoxes of Our Broken Legal System* by Jed Rakoff

18 Maalis 202456min

Steven Kamin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was previously the director of the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board, and is a returning guest to the podcast. Mark Sobel is the US Chairman at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, and he previously served at the US Department of the Treasury for nearly four decades, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Monetary and Financial Policy from 2000 to early 2015. Also, from 2015 through 2018, Mark served as a US representative at the IMF. Steven and Mark join Macro Musings to talk about dollar dominance and whether or not it is here to stay. Specifically, Steven and Mark also discuss current debates surrounding dollarization, the threat that China poses to dollar dominance, the weaponization of the dollar in the global economy, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode. Steven's Twitter: @steven_kamin Steven's AEI profile Mark's Twitter: @sobel_mark Mark's CSIS profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Dollar Dominance is Here to Stay for the Foreseeable Future—the Real Issue for the Global Economy is How and Why* by Steven Kamin and Mark Sobel *Steven Kamin on the Global Influence of Fed Policy and the U.S. Dollar* by Macro Musings *US Sanctions Reinforce the Dollar's Dominance* by Michael Dooley, David Folkerts-Landau, and Peter Garber

11 Maalis 202456min

Peter Williams is a managing director of macroeconomic research at 22V Research and was formerly at the IMF and the World Bank. Peter joins David on Macro Musings to provide a market perspective on interest rates, Treasury markets, and monetary policy. Specifically, David and Peter discuss the dos and don'ts of estimating term premiums, the importance and future of R-star, the usefulness of inflation expectations, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode. Peter's Twitter: @peterdwilliams Peter's LinkedIn profile Peter's 22V bio David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *A Macroeconomic Approach to the Term Premium* by Emanuel Kopp and Peter Williams *Reading the Stars* by Peter Williams, Yasser Abdih, and Emanuel Kopp *Inflation Expectations in the U.S.: Linking Markets, Households, and Businesses* by Peter Williams

4 Maalis 202457min

Bill Nelson is the chief economist and an executive vice president at the Bank Policy Institute. Bill previously was a deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board, where his responsibilities included monetary policy analysis, discount window policy analysis, and financial institution supervision. Bill also worked closely with the BIS working groups in the design of liquidity regulations. As a returning guest to Macro Musings, he rejoins David to talk about the recent proposals to improve the Fed's lender of last resort role via the discount window, as well as recent developments related to the Fed's balance sheet. Transcript for this week's episode. Bill's BPI profile BPI's Twitter: @bankpolicy David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Comment on the New G30 Report* by Bill Nelson *Bank Failures and Contagion: Lenders of Last Resort, Liquidity, and Risk Management* by the Group of Thirty

26 Helmi 202451min

Eric Leeper is a professor of economics at the University of Virginia, a former advisor to central banks around the world, and a distinguished visiting scholar at the Mercatus Center. Eric is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his work on the fiscal accounting of the COVID inflation surge. Specifically, David and Eric discuss fiscal dominance during the pandemic period, how the fiscal theory of the price level explains inflationary trends, the backward and forward-looking fiscal accounting exercises, and more. Transcript for this week's episode. Eric's Twitter: @EricMLeeper Eric's UVA profile Eric's Mercatus profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *A Fiscal Accounting of COVID Inflation* by Eric Leeper and Joe Anderson *Fiscal Dominance—What It Is and How It Threatens Inflation Control* by Eric Leeper *Three World Wars: Fiscal-Monetary Consequences* by George Hall and Thomas Sargent *The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level With a Bubble* by Markus Brunnermeier, Sebastian Merkel, and Yuliy Sannikov *George Hall on the History of the U.S. National Debt and Government Financing* by Macro Musings

19 Helmi 20241h 1min

Jeffrey Lacker is a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where he served as its head from 2004 to 2017. Jeffrey is now a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center and is also a returning guest to the podcast. He rejoins David on Macro Musings to talk about a wide range of Fed governance issues, including the evolving nature of governance at the Fed, the increasing politicization of the central bank, its continuing relationship with Congress, and a lot more. Transcript for this week's episode. Jeffrey's Mercatus profile Jeffrey's website Jeffrey's Richmond Fed archive David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *Governance and Diversity at the Federal Reserve* by Jeffrey Lacker *Some Questions About the Fed's Monetary Policy Operating Regime* by Jeffrey Lacker *The Legacy of Bennett McCallum and Lessons for Monetary Policy Today* an event hosted by the Mercatus Center *Ed Nelson on the Life, Work, and Legacy of Bennett McCallum* by Macro Musings *What Can the Fed Do About the Deficit? Nothing* by Greg Ip

12 Helmi 202456min

Mark Koyama is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and is a senior fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. Mark is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his recent book that he co-authored with Jared Rubin titled, *How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth.* Specifically, David and Mark discuss the key drivers of long-run economic growth throughout history and what we might be able to expect in the future. Transcript for this week's episode. Mark's Twitter: @MarkKoyama Mark's GMU profile Mark's Mercatus profile David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings Join the Macro Musings mailing list! Check out our new Macro Musings merch! Related Links: *How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth* by Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin

5 Helmi 202455min