Macro Musings

In this week’s episode, David speaks with Mark Thoma, professor of economics at the University of Oregon and author of the popular blog, “Economist’s View.” Mark discusses his journey into econometrics and the application of econometric techniques to macroeconomic and monetary issues. Looking back at the 2008 crisis, Mark makes the case that fiscal stimulus should have been much stronger. He and David also discuss the role of monetary policy and financial regulation during this time. Finally, Thoma also explains some of his work on political business cycles: instances where politicians affect policy to increase the likelihood of being reelected. David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Mark Thoma’s blog: http://economistsview.typepad.com/ David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Mark Thoma’s Twitter: @MarkThoma Related links Mark Thoma’s Webpage: http://pages.uoregon.edu/mthoma/ Mark Thoma’s CBS archive: http://www.cbsnews.com/search/author/mark-thoma/ Mark Thoma’s Fiscal Times archive: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Authors/T/Mark-Thoma David’s first blog post: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2007/08/liquidityholics-of-world.html

As a Federal Reserve official, Joseph Gagnon played a critical role in providing the intellectual justification for the Fed’s quantitative easing (QE) programs. Now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Joe joins the show to discuss the events leading up to the decision to implement QE and its consequences. He and David also discuss how the Fed’s QE compares and contrasts with the QE implemented by the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank. Finally, Joe shares some of his thoughts on Brexit’s wider implications. David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Joseph Gagnon’s biography: https://piie.com/experts/senior-research-staff/joseph-e-gagnon David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Joseph Gagnon’s Twitter: @GagnonMacro Note: this recording was taped before the Brexit vote on June 23. Related Links “Large-Scale Asset Purchases by the Federal Reserve: Did They Work?” https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr441.pdf “Quantitative Easing: An Underappreciated Success” https://piie.com/system/files/documents/pb16-4.pdf

What is money and where does it come from? Will Luther, assistant professor of economics at Kenyon College, joins the show and explains the two competing theories on the origins of money. The first theory posits governments are needed to provide credibility for money as a medium of exchange. The second theory, the spontaneous order theory, argues market actors will arrive at an acceptable medium of exchange on their own. David and Will discuss historic examples of both public and private money, including the Somali shilling and the brief use of vodka as a form of currency in Russia in the 1990s. Will also explains how Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency work and how cryptocurrency may affect future macroeconomic policy. David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Will Luther’s webpage: http://www.wluther.com/ David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Will Luther’s Twitter: @WilliamJLuther Related links: “Synthesizing State and Spontaneous Order Theories of Money” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2140208 “The Monetary Mechanism of Stateless Somalia” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2047494 “Regulating Bitcoin: On What Grounds?” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2631307 “On the Origins of Money” https://mises.org/library/origins-money-0

Robert Hetzel is a senior economist and research advisor at the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank where he has worked since 1975. He joins the show to discuss the rise of monetarism and how Milton Friedman, his dissertation advisor, shaped his thinking on macroeconomics. Monetarism challenged the conventional Keynesian consensus in the 1970s and caused Keynesians to reformulate their views into a new doctrine called, “New Keynesianism.” However, in the wake of the Great Recession, “Old Keynesianism” has made a comeback. Hetzel pushes back against the Keynesian resurgence and explores other explanations of the 2008 crisis. David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ David's Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Robert Hetzel's biography: https://www.richmondfed.org/research/economists/bios/hetzel_bio Related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/~/media/richmondfedorg/publications/research/economic_quarterly/2012/q2/pdf/hetzel.pdf https://www.richmondfed.org/~/media/richmondfedorg/publications/research/economic_quarterly/2009/spring/pdf/hetzel2.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Program-Monetary-Stability-Milton-Friedman/dp/0823203719

Lars Christensen, an internationally renowned Danish economist and Senior Fellow at London’s Adam Smith Institute, discusses the poor monetary policy that has plagued the Eurozone. Christensen, the coiner of the term “market monetarism,” argues that Europe from the beginning was not an optimal region for its members to share a single currency and that the European Central Bank’s decisions have greatly worsened the Eurozone’s economic pain. This suffering, consequently, has led to the rise of extremist movements throughout the region. Lars and David also turn their conversation to the lesser-known “dollar bloc,” the group of countries that either use the U.S. dollar or peg their currencies to the dollar. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Lars Christensen’s blog: https://marketmonetarist.com David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Lars Christensen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaMoMVPY

Josh Hendrickson, assistant professor of economics at the University of Mississippi, joins the show to discuss whether money matters anymore. It may come as a surprise to the layman, but most monetary economists don’t pay close attention to the money supply. Instead, they prefer to look at economic slack, inflation, and interest rates when considering monetary policy. Hendrickson pushes back against this view by making the case that money does still matter both theoretically and empirically. He shows how new modeling approaches and better money measurements point to an important role for money. The run on the shadow banking system during the crisis and the subsequent collapse in its money supply are used to illustrate these points. Finally, Josh and host David Beckworth discuss the importance of Twitter and blogging in building a professional brand. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Josh Hendrickson’s blog: https://everydayecon.wordpress.com/ David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Josh Hendrickson’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebelEconProf Links from today’s show: http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Quantity-Money-Other-Essays/dp/0202060306 http://economics.olemiss.edu/files/2013/05/Mismeasurement5b.pdf http://www.centerforfinancialstability.org/getting_wrong.php

Can trying to be safe actually be dangerous? Greg Ip, chief economics commentator of the Wall Street Journal, says yes in his new book, Foolproof: How Safety Can be Dangerous and How Danger Makes Us Safe. When we try to be too safe, we become complacent. Ip argues that the stability of the ‘80s and ‘90s made us take risks that culminated in the 2008 disaster. Being too safe can also explain non-economic problems such as forest fires and football injuries. Ip also shares his thoughts on Fed policy and the possibility of a “helicopter drop” of money. David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Greg Ip’s WSJ archive: http://www.wsj.com/news/author/8223 Greg Ip’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/greg_ip Links from today's show http://www.amazon.com/Foolproof-Safety-Dangerous-Danger-Makes/dp/0316286044 http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Economics-Economy-Profits/dp/0470621664 http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/ http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/03/21/the-time-and-place-for-helicopter-money/

George Selgin, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, makes the case that central banks, rather than focusing on the price level or inflation rate, should instead allow inflation to reflect changes in productivity growth. According to this productivity norm, deflation can actually be a good thing if it reflects improved productivity. Selgin examines the Great Deflation of the late 1800s and dispels some of the popular myths surrounding that period. He also discusses what the Fed got wrong in the lead-up to the recent financial crisis. David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Georg Selgin’s Cato archive: http://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin George Selgin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/georgeselgin Links from today’s show: http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/upldbook98pdf.pdf https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/sr/sr331.pdf http://voxeu.org/article/historical-look-deflation http://hope.dukejournals.org/content/27/4/705.full.pdf+html (subscription required)

National Review senior editor Ramesh Ponnuru discusses his adventure into monetary economics. He shares his thoughts on some of the current-day misconceptions surrounding Federal Reserve policy and makes the case for a more nuanced, yet rules-based approach toward monetary policy. *Note: The host and guest briefly mention 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz and Cruz's views on monetary policy. This episode was recorded before Cruz suspended his presidential campaign. David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ David's Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Ramesh Ponnuru's NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/author/ramesh-ponnuru Ramesh's Twitter: https://twitter.com/rameshponnuru Links from today's show: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/opinion/subprime-reasoning-on-housing.html https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/300951/monetary-regime-change https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/378042/right-goal-central-banks http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2015-08-14/fallible-fed-needs-a-few-good-rules https://newrepublic.com/article/97013/obama-federal-reserve-inflation-loose-money

Miles Kimball, professor of economics at the University of Michigan and blogger at “Confessions of a Supply-Side Liberal,” joins the show to discuss negative interest rates. Kimball explains how the natural rate of interest can go below zero and why central banks should act accordingly. He also makes the case for higher equity requirements for financial institutions. David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Miles Kimball’s blog: http://blog.supplysideliberal.com/ David’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Miles Kimball's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mileskimball Links from today’s show: http://blog.supplysideliberal.com/post/56311827170/the-medium-run-natural-interest-rate-and-the https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2015/wp15224.pdf https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19721014/National%20Institute%20Economic%20Review-2015-Kimball-R5-R14.pdf http://bankersnewclothes.com/

Cardiff Garcia, the US editor of the Financial Times blog, Alphaville, discusses the world of economics journalism, the 2008 crisis, and current monetary policy, both in the United States and abroad. He also shares his thoughts on the demand for so-called “safe assets” in a time of crisis and the difficulties of inflation-targeting. David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/ David's Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBeckworth Cardiff's Twitter: https://twitter.com/CardiffGarcia

In this episode, John Cochrane, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and blogger at The Grumpy Economist, discusses his journey into economics and finance with host David Beckworth. They also discuss the controversial fiscal theory of the price level, which argues that fiscal policy, not monetary policy set by central banks, primarily determines inflation. David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ John Cochrane’s blog: http://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/ John Cochrane’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnHCochrane Links from today’s conversation: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/papers/Campbell_Cochrane_By_Force_of_Habit_(JPE).pdf http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/papers/New_Structure.pdf http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic500592.files/sargent%20wallace.pdf

John Taylor of Stanford University and the Hoover Institution joins host David Beckworth to discuss Taylor's famous monetary rule for central banks in setting interest rates in response to changes in inflation and output. They discuss how Taylor discovered the rule and how it has performed over time. Taylor also shares his thoughts for improving current Federal Reserve policy. David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com John Taylor's blog: http://economicsone.com/ Links from today's conversation: http://web.stanford.edu/~johntayl/Papers/Discretion.PDF http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/yellen20120606a.htm http://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/jmcb_lecture.pdf http://www.hoover.org/press-releases/hoover-press-getting-track-how-government-actions-and-interventions-caused-prolonged https://huizenga.house.gov/uploadedfiles/3189.fed.reform.section.by.section.pdf

Welcome to Macro Musings, a new podcast exploring the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future. In the inaugural episode, Scott Sumner joins host David Beckworth to talk about Scott's new book *The Midas Paradox*, which advances a bold new explanation of what caused the Great Depression. They also discuss Scott's path into macro and monetary economics as well as what the Fed got wrong in 2008. David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com Scott's blog: http://www.themoneyillusion.com/ Links from today's conversation: http://www.amazon.com/The-Midas-Paradox-Government-Depression/dp/1598131508 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/opinion/subprime-reasoning-on-housing.html?_r=0