George Selgin on Fed Master Accounts, Central Bank Independence, and the Fed’s Balance Sheet

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 Revenue (00:35:55) – Budget Resolution (00:45:43) – Daniel’s Proposed Solutions (00:49:10) – Outro

26 Maj 49min

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 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

19 Maj 1h

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 Proposal (00:40:13) – Trump’s Trade War (00:58:25) – Outro

12 Maj 59min

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

5 Maj 59min

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 the Fed (00:58:24) – Outro

28 Apr 59min

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 Lending? (00:25:42) – Feature or Bug? (00:33:19) – Fed Independence (00:47:45) – Regionalism of the Fed (00:55:23) – Outro

21 Apr 56min

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 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

14 Apr 57min

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) – Responding to Lorie’s Case for the Floor System (00:59:11) – Outro

7 Apr 59min