Macro Musings with David Beckworth cover art

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

By: Mercatus Center at George Mason University
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  • Summary

  • Hosted by David Beckworth of the Mercatus Center, Macro Musings pulls back the curtain on the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future.
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Episodes
  • Lars Christensen on AI and its Impact on Monetary Policy and the Broader Field of Economics

    Lars Christensen on AI and its Impact on Monetary Policy and the Broader Field of Economics
    Jun 10 2024

    Lars Christensen is a founding member of the market monetarist tradition, an entrepreneur in the AI space, and is also a returning guest to Macro Musings. Lars rejoins the podcast to talk about AI and its implications for the economy and for monetary policy. David and Lars also discuss the basics and implications of dynamic pricing, AI’s growing use within econometric analysis, how AI will impact the Fed and its policymaking, and much more.

    Transcript for this week’s episode.

    Lars’s Twitter: @MaMoMVPY

    Lars’s blog

    David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

    Follow us on Twitter: @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!

    Related Links:

    *From Merchants to Quants: The Digital Revolution in Retail* by Lars Christensen

    *Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy* by George Selgin

    Timestamps:

    (00:00:00) – Intro

    (00:01:16) – Lars’s Move from Macro to AI

    (00:08:02) – The Basics and Implications of Dynamic Pricing

    (00:16:17) – Using AI for Econometric Analysis

    (00:23:54) – The Implications of AI for the Economics Field

    (00:35:45) – How Will AI Impact the Federal Reserve and its Policymaking

    (00:38:55) – Deflation as a Response to an AI Driven Productivity Shock

    (00:52:08) – Outro

    Photo Credit: Nordnet Bank
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    53 mins
  • Ryan Bourne on *The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy*

    Ryan Bourne on *The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy*
    Jun 3 2024

    Ryan Bourne is the R. Evan Scharf Chair for Public Understanding of Economic at the Cato Institute, and he is also the editor and contributor to a new book titled, *The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy.* Ryan joins Macro Musings to talk about this new book, and specifically, the history and functionality of rent and price controls, the basics of dynamic pricing, the root causes of inflation, and a lot more.

    Transcript for this week’s episode.

    Ryan’s Twitter: @MrRBourne

    Ryan’s Cato profile

    David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

    Follow us on Twitter: @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!

    Related Links:

    *The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Created Bad Policy* by Ryan Bourne et al.

    *I, Pencil* by Leonard Read

    *Forty Centuries of Wage and Prices Controls: How Not to Fight Inflation* by Robert Schuettinger and Eamonn Butler

    *Shock Values: Prices and Inflation in American Democracy* by Carola Binder

    Timestamps:

    (00:00:00) – Intro

    (00:01:05) – The Background Motivation for “The War on Prices*

    (00:06:32) – The Definition and Importance of Prices

    (00:12:41) – The Parable of “I, Pencil”

    (00:18:39) – Rationing on Quality or Quantity: Rent Control

    (00:26:39) – The World War II Experience with Price Controls

    (00:32:58) – Price and Wage Controls During the Nixon Administration

    (00:35:48) – The Effects of a Minimum Wage

    (00:38:38) – The Basics of Dynamic Pricing

    (00:44:03) – Defining Inflation and Establishing its Sources

    (00:56:08) – Was the Recent Inflation Surge Actually Optimal?

    (00:59:51) – Outro
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • George Selgin on Fed Master Accounts, Central Bank Independence, and the Fed’s Balance Sheet

    George Selgin on Fed Master Accounts, Central Bank Independence, and the Fed’s Balance Sheet
    May 27 2024
    George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute. George is also a frequent guest of the podcast, and he rejoins Macro Musings to talk about some of the recent developments in the monetary and fiscal policy space. Specifically, David and George discuss recent updates regarding Fed master accounts, the problematic aspects of the Fed’s balance sheet, why a second Trump term would threaten central bank independence, and much more. Transcript for this week’s episode. George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin George’s Cato profile David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @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! Related Links: Caitlin Long’s tweet regarding the Fed’s special treatment for approving master accounts *Public comments on the Proposed Guidelines for Evaluating Requests for Accounts and Services* by George Selgin *Custodia Bank Inc v. Federal Reserve Board of Governors* Court documents from the Wyoming District Court *Annual Report on Open Market Operations (2023)* by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York *Trump Allies Draw Up Plans to Blunt Fed’s Independence* by Andrew Restuccia, Nick Timiraos, and Alex Leary *Trump Advisers Discuss Penalties for Nations That Move Away From the Dollar* by Saleha Mohsin, Jennfier Jacobs, and Nancy Cook *Hayek versus Keynes on How the Price Level Ought to Behave* by George Selgin *The Menace of Fiscal QE* by George Selgin *George Selgin on False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery* by Macro Musings Timestamps: (00:01:36) – Intro (00:06:26) – Updates on Fed Master Accounts and the Custodia Case (00:17:57) – Problematic Aspects of the Fed’s Balance Sheet (00:22:50) – The Importance of the Overnight Unsecured Interbank Lending Market (00:34:26) – Responding to the Jared Bernstein Incident (00:46:33) – Donald Trump, Central Bank Independence, and Dollar Dominance (00:56:54) – Outro
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    58 mins
Economics
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