35 - Peter Conti-Brown on *The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve*

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 Feb 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 Feb 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 Feb 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 Feb 202455min

Gauti Eggertsson is a professor of economics at Brown University and is the author of several recent papers on the causes of the 2021-22 inflation surge and the lessons to be drawn from it for monetary policy going forward. Gauti is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins the show to talk about these papers and their findings. Specifically, David and Gauti discuss the role of the Fed’s FAIT framework in the post-pandemic inflation surge, the return of the non-linear Phillips curve, the merits of nominal GDP targeting and average nominal output targeting, Gauti’s policy suggestions for the Fed, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Gauti’s Twitter: @GautiEggertsson Gauti’s website Gauti’s Brown University 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:   *The Inflation Surge of the 2020s: The Role of Monetary Policy* by Gauti Eggertsson and Donald Kohn   *It’s Baaack: The Surge in Inflation in the 2020s and the Return of the Non-Linear Phillips Curve* by Pierpaolo Benigno and Gauti Eggertsson   *The Slanted-L Phillips Curve* by Pierpaolo Benigno and Gauti Eggertsson   *A Toolkit for Solving Models with a Lower Bound on Interest Rates of Stochastic Duration* by Gauti Eggertsson, Sergey Egiev, Alessandro Lin, Josef Platzer, and Luca Riva   *The Fed’s New Policy Framework: A Major Improvement but More Can Be Done* by Gauti Eggertsson, Sergey Egiev, Alessandro Lin, Josef Platzer, and Luca Riva   *The Princeton School and the Zero Lower Bound* by Scott Sumner   *Temporary Price-Level Targeting: An Alternative Framework for Monetary Policy* by Ben Bernanke

29 Jan 202459min

Jonathon Hazell is an assistant professor of economics at the London School of Economics. Jonathon joins Macro Musings to talk about Phillips curves, R-stars, and nominal wage rigidity. Specifically, Jonathon and David also discuss the how to view the recent inflation experience, how to measure the natural rate using natural experiments, the downward nature of wage rigidity, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Jonathon’s Twitter: @JADHazell Jonathon’s website Jonathon’s LSE 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:   *The Natural Rate of Return on Capital: Replication Package* by Jonathon Hazell, Veronica Backer-Peral, and Atif Mian   *The Slope of the Phillips Curve: Evidence From US States* by Jonathon Hazell, Juan Herreno, Emi Nakamura, and Jon Steinsson   *Measuring the Natural Rate Using Natural Experiments* by Veronica Backer-Peral, Jonathon Hazell, and Atif Mian   *Downward Rigidity in the Wage for New Hires* by Jonathon Hazell and Bledi Taska   *National Wage Setting* by Jonathon Hazell, Christina Patterson, Heather Sarsons, and Bledi Taska   *The Unemployment Volatility Puzzle: Is Wage Stickiness the Answer?* by Christopher Pissarides

22 Jan 20241h 10min

Skanda Amarnath is the executive director of Employ America, a think tank that promotes full employment in the American economy, and Preston Mui is also a senior economist at Employ America. Skanda and Preston join Macro Musings to talk about U.S. disinflation and the debates surrounding it, as well as what we can expect from Fed policy in 2024 and beyond, and finally, the Fed’s framework review that is set to begin later this year.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Skanda’s Twitter: @IrvingSwisher Skanda’s Medium archive   Preston’s Twitter: @PrestonMui Preston’s Github profile   Skanda and Preston’s Employ America bios   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:   *Ten Thoughts on the Tribal “Transitory” Debate as We Enter 2024* by Skanda Amarnath   *Three Motivations for Interest Rate Normalization: A Playbook for Fed Policy in 2024* by Preston Mui and Skanda Amarnath   Jerome Powell’s Opening Remarks at Monetary Policy Challenges in a Global Economy, a policy panel at the 24th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conferences, hosted by the IMF

15 Jan 20241h 5min

Claudio Borio is the head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS. Claudio is also a returning guest to the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about central bank operating systems and the challenge of large balance sheets at central banks. David and Claudio also discuss the basics and uniqueness of the scarce reserve system, the arguments in favor of an abundant reserve system, the politics of large central bank balance sheets, the possibility of a tiered reserve system, and a lot more.   Transcript for this week’s episode.   Claudio’s BIS 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:   *Getting Up From the Floor* by Claudio Borio   *Why Central Banks Should (but Might Not) Keep the Market Flooded With Money* by Jon Sindreu   *Corridor, Floor, Other: Are Operating Frameworks Fit for the Future?* by Daniel Hinge

8 Jan 202450min