Liya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center. In Liya’s first appearance on the show she explains federal and state level changes to labor regulations, who makes up the gig economy workforce, the role women play in the independent workforce, the novel concept of portable benefits, and…

Jon Hartley and Neale Mahoney (Stanford Economics Professor) discuss Neale’s career, Neale’s research on consumer sentiment, junk fees, and medical debt, as well as Neale’s time in the Biden Administration National Economic Council and the future of economic policy. Recorded on January 8, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Neale Mahoney is the Trione Direct…

Evan Koenig is a former senior aide to the president of the Dallas Fed. Evan returns to the show to discuss, the ins and outs of nominal GDP targeting, the practical applications of NGDP targeting, the reasons the Fed should consider it for the framework review, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Record…

Steven Kelly is the associate director of research as the Yale Program on Financial Stability. Steven returns to the show to discuss his new model, the Treasury Equity Model of the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 23rd, 2025 Follow David Beckworth on X: @David…

Jon Hartley and Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler discuss the stance of monetary policy, the Federal Reserve balance sheet, the natural rate of interest (r-star), inflation, labor markets, productivity, entrepreneurship, the US economy, and the recent growth in Miami. Recorded on February 7, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Dr. Adriana D. Kugler too…

Pat Toomey is a former senator from the state of Pennsylvania and served on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. In Pat’s first appearance on the show he discussed his career in public service, Fed master accounts, the future on monetary policy, his quest for Fed accountability, the looming debt issue, and much more. Check out the …

Jon Hartley and Joe Lonsdale discuss Joe’s career, co-founding Palantir, Addepar, and OpenGov, venture capital investing, defense tech, DOGE, Elon Musk, regulation, and the prospects for generative artificial intelligence. Recorded on December 12, 2024. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Joe Lonsdale is the founder and managing Partner at 8VC, an early-stage vent…

Brian Albrecht is the chief economist for the International Center for Law & Economics and is the coauthor of the economics newsletter Economic Forces. In Brian’s first appearance on the show, he discussed the data behind business dynamism, the notion of greedflation, the recent developments in antitrust, the update Econ 101 needs to make in regard…

On this special greatest hits compilation episode our host David Beckworth primes listeners for the Fed Framework Review by highlighting the best snippets from past shows discussing nominal GDP targeting. This episode includes Mary Daly’s thoughts on NGDP targeting, Evan Koenig on the basics of NGDP targeting, George Selgin on Powell’s hesitations …

Jon Hartley and Douglas Irwin discuss Doug’s career, the history of US trade policy, tariffs, globalization, the consumer and labor market effects of trade, the World Trade Organization, and industrial policy. Recorded on January 9, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Douglas Irwin is John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College. He is the author …

Peter Conti-Brown is a historian and legal scholar of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Peter returns to the podcast to discuss the state of Federal Reserve leadership under the incoming Trump administration, expectations for Fed independence, a new proposal fo…

David Bahnsen is a Wall Street veteran and currently is the managing director of The Bahnsen Group. In David’s first appearance on the podcast, he talks through multiple questions about the incoming Trump Administration, the problem with the growing indebtedness of the US government, shifts in the Republican party, the notion of financialization of…

Jon Hartley and David Beckworth discuss David’s career, monetary policy, the history of Nominal GDP targeting as an idea along with its benefits and challenges, the history of inflation targeting along with its recent evolution, the Fed’s recent framework reviews, as well as corridor (scarce reserves) versus floor (ample reserves) systems. Recorded…

Marijn Bolhuis is an economist in the World Economic Studies Division of the IMF’s research department. In Marijn’s first appearance on the podcast he discusses his new paper, which introduces the idea of a fiscal r-star, and expands on another paper which helps economists understand why consumer sentiment is so depressed, despite relatively low un…

David Beckworth and producer Sam Alburger dive into the last year of Macro Musings. They pick their favorite episodes, discuss how the year 2024 will be remembered in the macroeconomic history, highlight stories about the making of the show, combine David’s love for basketball and economics, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s e…

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 returning guest to the program, and he rejoins David on Macro Musings to talk about crypto, strategic Bitcoin reserves, and the Fed’s framework review. Specifically, David and George also discuss Georg…

Jon Hartley and Myron Scholes discuss Myron’s career, including being at the University of Chicago at the dawn of financial economics as a field, how Myron met Fischer Black, and the development of the Black-Scholes option pricing model, investing, innovation, and financial regulation. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Myron Scholes is the Frank E. Buck Professo…

Joey Politano is an economist and a commentator who writes a popular Substack newsletter on economics. Joey is also a returning guest to Macro Musings, and he rejoins David to talk about the AI investment boom and broader economic growth trends. Specifically, David and Joey also discuss generational differences in economic perspectives, the increas…

Jon Hartley and Brad Gerstner discuss Brad’s career, free markets, investing in technology, industrial policy, the CHIPS and Science Act, and baby equity investment accounts. Recorded on November 1, 2024. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Brad Gerstneris the founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital, a tech investment firm based in Silicon Valley, that manages both p…