Jeffrey Lacker on Governance at the Federal Reserve

Scott Sumner is the Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair of Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center. Scott joins David on Macro Musings to discuss Milton Friedman's views and what he might say about some of the recent developments in monetary policy. Specifically, Scott and David talk about nominal interest rates as indicators of the stance of monetary policy, fiscal austerity as means of reducing excessive aggregate demand, Friedman’s critique of the Phillips curve and wage and price controls, what Friedman might have said about the recent inflation numbers, and much more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Scott’s automated Twitter: @MoneyIllusion Scott’s blog: https://www.themoneyillusion.com/ Scott’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/scott-sumner   Related Links:   *Friedman's Smashing Success­­* by Scott Sumner https://www.econlib.org/friedmans-smashing-success/   *Inflation is a Nominal Phenomenon* by Scott Sumner https://www.econlib.org/inflation-is-a-nominal-phenomenon/   *The Role of Monetary Policy* (1968) by Milton Friedman https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-24002-9_11   *What Would Milton Friedman Have Thought of Market Monetarism?* by Scott Sumner https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198704324.001.0001/acprof-9780198704324-chapter-15   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

19 Juli 202153min

Skanda Amarnath is the executive director of Employ America and a former hedge fund economist. He rejoins Macro Musings to talk about the fate of the Phillips Curve, the inflation outlook, the Fed’s new framework, and his vision for a better monetary policy future. David and Skanda also discuss the Fed’s flawed assessment of maximum employment, how to modify the central bank’s Summary of Economic Projections, and the significance of capacity constraints vs labor utilization.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Skanda’s Twitter: @IrvingSwisher Skanda’s Employ America archive: https://employamerica.org/author/skandaamarnath/ Skanda’s Medium profile: https://medium.com/@skanda_97974   Related Links:   *Beyond the Phillips Curve: A Dynamic Approach to Communicating Assessments of 'Maximum Employment'* by Skanda Amarnath and Alex Williams https://employamerica.medium.com/beyond-the-phillips-curve-a-dynamic-approach-to-communicating-assessments-of-maximum-employment-c3eff48b2fcf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

12 Juli 202151min

Agustin Carstens leads the Bank for International Settlements or the BIS in his role as general manager and previously served as the governor of the Bank of Mexico. He also served as the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Agustin joins David on Macro Musings to discuss the new BIS 2021 annual report. Specifically, David and Agustin discuss the macroeconomic developments of the past year, the distributional footprint of monetary policy, the evolving role of central banking, and the outlook for central bank digital currency (CBDC).   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Agustin’s BIS profile: https://www.bis.org/author/agust%C3%ADn_carstens.htm   Related Links:   *Annual Economic Report 2021* by the BIS https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2021e.htm   U.S. Monetary Policy and the Global Financial Cycle* by Silvia Miranda-Agrippino and Hélène Rey https://academic.oup.com/restud/article/87/6/2754/5834728?login=true   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

5 Juli 202150min

Jason Furman is a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and is currently a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Jason is also a professor at Harvard University and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about overheating, the inflation outlook, and the right way to think about fiscal policy in an era of low interest rates.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Jason’s Twitter: @jasonfurman Jason’s Harvard profile: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/jason-furman Jason’s PIIE profile: https://www.piie.com/experts/senior-research-staff/jason-furman   Related Links:   *A Reconsideration of Fiscal Policy in the Era of Low Interest Rates* by Jason Furman and Larry Summers https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/programs/growthpolicy/reconsideration-fiscal-policy-era-low-interest-rates-jason   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

28 Juni 202153min

Steffen Murau is a political economist at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University and specializes in international money and finance. He joins Macro Musings to talk about the Eurozone, its role within international monetary architecture, and the future of the dollar zone. They also discuss balance sheet hierarchies, the roles of European banks compared to their American counterparts, and the fiscal ecosystem present within the Eurozone.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Steffen’s Twitter: @steffenmurau Steffen’s website: https://steffenmurau.com/ Steffen’s GDPC profile: https://www.bu.edu/gdp/profile/steffen-murau/   Related Links:   *A Macro-Financial Model of the Eurozone Architecture Embedded in the Global Offshore US-Dollar System* by Steffen Murau https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2020/07/Murau-Eurozone-architecture.pdf   *The Hierarchy of the Offshore US-Dollar System: On Swap Lines, the FIMA Repo Facility and Special Drawing Rights* by Steffen Murau, Fabian Paper, and Tobias Pforr https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2021/02/Steffen-Murau-GEGI-Study-2-Feb-2021.pdf   *The Evolution of the Offshore US-Dollar System: Past, Present, and Four Possible Futures* by Steffen Murau, Joe Rini, and Armin Haas https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/evolution-of-the-offshore-usdollar-system-past-present-and-four-possible-futures/B36ED9082CECE54F3F5B8E8F40D15148   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

21 Juni 202153min

Dan Smith is an associate professor of economics at Middle Tennessee State University and directs the Political Economy Research Institute at MTSU. Alex Salter is an associate professor of economics at Texas Tech University. Dan and Alex join David on a special live episode of Macro Musings to discuss their new book, Money and the Rule of Law: Generality and Predictability in Monetary Institutions. Specifically, they discuss knowledge and incentive problems in setting monetary policy, what is meant by “rule of law,” how to make monetary policy accountable, centralized versus decentralized forms of digital currencies, thoughts on free banking, and much more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Alex’s Twitter: @alexwsalter Alex’s website: https://www.awsalter.com/ Alex’s Free Market Institute profile: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/freemarketinstitute/people/salter.php   Daniel’s Twitter: @smithdanj1 Daniel’s website: http://www.danieljosephsmith.com/about.html Daniel’s MTSU profile: https://www.mtsu.edu/faculty/daniel-j-smith   Related Links:   *Seigniorage in a Cross-Section of Countries* by Reid W. Click https://www.jstor.org/stable/2601207   *Money and the Rule of Law: Generality and Predictability in Monetary Institutions* by Peter J. Boettke, Alexander William Salter, and Daniel J. Smith https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/money-and-the-rule-of-law/C825E982EDE5BD2BE41A99464DC885DB   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

14 Juni 202153min

David Andolfatto is a vice president for the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and has published widely in the field of monetary economics. David also blogs at MacroMania and is a returning guest to the podcast. He rejoins Macro Musings to talk about his thoughts on macro theory, plumbing issues, central bank digital currency, and more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   David’s Twitter: @dandolfa David’s St. Louis Fed profile: https://www.stlouisfed.org/about-us/leadership-governance/bank-officers/executive-bios/david-andolfatto   Related Links:   *Some Thoughts on Central Bank Digital Currency* by David Andolfatto https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/spring/summer-2021/some-thoughts-central-bank-digital-currency   *Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee: April 27-28, 2021* by the Fed https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcminutes20210428.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

7 Juni 202154min

Mark Carney served as the governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 until 2013, and as the governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. Mark also was the chairman of the Financial Stability Board from 2011 to 2018. Mark is currently the Vice Chairman and Head of Impact Investing at Brookfield Asset Management, as well as a UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. Mark joins David on Macro Musings to discuss his new book *Value(s): Building a Better World for All*, as well as his career in central banking. Specifically, they discuss Mark’s experience at the Bank of Canada during the Great Recession, nominal GDP targeting and average inflation targeting as central bank frameworks, the future of central bank digital currencies, dollar dominance and the shadow banking system, the role of central banks and the financial sector in combating climate change, and much more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Mark’s Twitter: @MarkJCarney Mark’s Brookfield profile: https://www.brookfield.com/about-us/leadership/mark-carney   Related Links:   *Value(s): Building A Better World For All* by Mark Carney https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/669023/values-by-mark-carney/9780771051555   *The Growing Challenges for Monetary Policy in the Current International Monetary and Financial System* by Mark Carney (speech given at Jackson Hole Symposium 2019) https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/speech/2019/the-growing-challenges-for-monetary-policy-speech-by-mark-carney.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

31 Maj 202154min