144 – Peter Stella on Debt, Safe Assets, and Central Bank Operations

Donald Kohn is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and currently serves as an external member of the Financial Policy Committee at the Bank of England. Donald is also a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System, serving previously as a governor and then as vice-chair of the Board of Governors from 2002 to 2010. He joins the show today to talk about his journey through the Federal Reserve System in addition to some of his recent work. David and Donald also discuss Fed policy during the ‘80s, expanding the types of assets the Fed could purchase, and the challenges it faces today.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/02012019/burns-powell   Donald’s Brookings profile: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/donald-kohn/ Donald’s Federal Reserve History biography: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/people/donald_l_kohn   Related Links:   *The Anguish of Central Banking* by Arthur Burns http://www.perjacobsson.org/lectures/1979.pdf   *Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country* by William Greider https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Secrets-of-the-Temple/William-Greider/9780671675561   *Keeping At It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government* by Paul Volcker https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/paul-volcker/keeping-at-it/9781541788299/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

4 Feb 201959min

Kevin Erdmann is an independent researcher and blogger at Idiosyncratic Whisk, where he explores economic and financial topics such as housing, investment, and speculation. He is also the author of an upcoming book titled, *Shut Out: How a Housing Shortage Caused the Great Recession and Crippled Our Economy*, and he joins the show today to discuss it. David and Kevin also break down the housing shortage problem, as they explore how the limited supply of housing in close access cities may have helped fuel the Great Recession.   NOTE: Although stated in the episode, Kevin's book was renamed to Shut Out. Locked Out was simply the working title at the time of the recording.   Link to the book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538122150/Shut-Out-How-a-Housing-Shortage-Caused-the-Great-Recession-and-Crippled-Our-Economy Discount code: 4S18MERC30   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01282019/were-we-all-wrong-about-great-recession   Kevin’s Twitter: @KAErdmann Kevin’s blog: http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/   Related Links:   *A Slide Deck on the Bubble and Crisis* by Kevin Erdmann http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/p/a-slide-deck-on-bubble-and-crisis.html   *Housing: Part 238 – Home Price Changes Over Time* by Kevin Erdmann http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/2017/06/housing-part-238-home-price-changes.html   *Why Do Cities Matter? Local Growth and Aggregate Growth* by Enrico Moretti & Chang-Tai Hsieh https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=housing_law_and_policy   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

28 Jan 20191h 7min

Christine McDaniel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and was previously the deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department and senior trade economist in the White House. Christine is a returning guest to Macro Musings and joins the show today to talk about recent trade developments. David and Christine also discuss the details of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, how Brexit affects trade issues in Europe, and the possibility of blowback from Trump’s trade policies.   Transcript for episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01212019/china-usmca-uk-and-more   Christine’s Twitter: @christinemcdan Christine’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/christine-mcdaniel   Related Links:   “Tariff man”: https://imgur.com/a/fcBuvKy   *A Weakened China Tries a Different Approach With the U.S.: Treading Lightly* by Keith Bradsher, Alan Rappeport and Glenn Thrush https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/china-trade-war.html   *Scholars Respond: New Trade Deal with Mexico, Canada* by Christine McDaniel and Daniel Griswold https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/scholars-respond-new-trade-deal-mexico-canada   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

21 Jan 201952min

Craig Torres is a reporter for Bloomberg News where has earned several rewards for his reporting on Fed policy. Previously, Craig also served as the chief of the Wall Street Journal’s Mexico City bureau, where his work on the collapse of the peso in the mid 90’s made him a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. He joins the show today to discuss some the stories he has written while reporting on the Fed and the economy. David and Craig also discuss the Fed’s increase in transparency under Jay Powell, the current state of U.S. monetary policy, and effects of automation on demographics and the economy.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01112019/war-stories-fed   Craig’s Twitter: @ctorresreporter Craig’s Bloomberg archive: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AElDlyQuDPM/craig-torres   Related Links:   *New Blue-Collar Jobs Will Survive the Rise of AI* by Craig Torres https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-01/new-blue-collar-jobs-will-survive-the-rise-of-ai   *Housing and Monetary Policy* by John Taylor https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/83de/849c0eaaa1eaa720427e1e1ac0c4782bf693.pdf   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

14 Jan 201958min

Julia Coronado is the president and founder of Macro Policy Perspectives, a Wall Street research firm. Previously, she was a chief economist for Graham Capital Management and a senior economist at BNP Paribas. Julia also served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for over a decade, and she joins the show today to talk about the Fed’s latest rate hikes and other recent economic developments. David and Julia also discuss the Fed’s recent financial stability report, why inflation has been persistently low, and ways to improve communications between the Fed and the market.   Julia’s Twitter: @jc_econ Julia’s Macropolicy Perspectives profile: https://www.macropolicyperspectives.com/about/   Related Links:    Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/01072019/micro-foundations-macro-questions(link forthcoming)   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

7 Jan 201952min

Brian Goff is the distinguished professor of economics at the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University. He is the author of the Econosports blog at Forbes and most recently the author of a new book titled, *Sports Economics Uncut*. Brian joins the show today to talk about the economics behind professional and collegiate sports across the United States. David and Brian also discuss stadium subsidies, the relationship between salary caps and dynasties, and why there may need to be serious reform at the collegiate sports level.   Brian’s blog: https://www.forbes.com/sites/briangoff/#393eb9d01647 Brian’s WKU profile: https://www.wku.edu/economics/staff/brian_goff   Related Links:   *Sports Economics Uncut* by Brian Goff https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/sports-economics-uncut   *eBooks link: https://www.ebooks.com/96329982/sports-economics-uncut/goff-brian/   *Football Still Americans’ Favorite Sport to Watch* by Jim Norman https://news.gallup.com/poll/224864/football-americans-favorite-sport-watch.aspx   *Happy 10th Birthday to the Most-Subsidized NFL Stadium in America* by Anne Philpot and Michael Farren https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/happy-10th-birthday-most-subsidized-nfl-stadium-america   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

31 Dec 20181h 1min

Felix Salmon is a financial journalist at Axios and the host of the Slate Money podcast. In this special holiday episode, Felix joins the show to discuss the economics of charitable giving and one of his other favorite topics, sovereign debt. David and Felix also discuss debt contract innovations, effective altruism, and ways to improve charitable giving across the U.S. and the globe.   Felix’s Twitter: @felixsalmon Felix’s website: http://www.felixsalmon.com/   Related Links:   Axios Edge newsletter: https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-edge Recipe for Disaster: The Formula that Killed Wall Street by Felix Salmon https://www.wired.com/2009/02/wp-quant/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

24 Dec 20181h 1min

Matt Mitchell is the director and senior research fellow at the Equity Initiative at the Mercatus Center. He joins the show today to talk about rent seeking and how it affects long term economic growth and prosperity. David and Matt also discuss regulatory capture, the rise of patent trolls, and the economics of public choice theory.   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12172018/macroeconomics-rent-seeking   Matt’s Twitter: @MattMitchell80 Matt’s Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/matthew-mitchell   Related Links:   *Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty* by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson https://scholar.harvard.edu/jrobinson/publications/why-nations-fail-origins-power-prosperity-and-poverty   *The Political Economy of the Rent-Seeking Society* by Anne Krueger https://www.jstor.org/stable/1808883?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents   *Entrepreneurship: Production, Unproductive, and Destructive* by William Baumol https://www.jstor.org/stable/2937617   *Uncontestable Favoritism* by Matt Mitchell https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3210953   *40 Years of Research on Rent Seeking* by Roger Congleton, Arye Hillman, and Kai Konrad https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783540791881   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

17 Dec 201856min