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George Selgin on Inflation, Fintechs, and Broadening Access to Fed Master Accounts

Release Date: 05/24/2021

Neha Narula, Anders Brownworth, and Daniel Aronoff on Understanding Stablecoins in the GENIUS Era

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Subscribe to the new ! Neha Narula is the director of the Digital Currency Initiative which is based out of the Media Lab at MIT. Anders Brownworth is veteran software engineer in the crypto space and is a Senior Research Advisor at DCI. Daniel Aronoff is Research Affiliate in the MIT Department of Economics and a Collaborator at DCI. Neha, Anders, and Daniel join the show to discuss their work at DCI, the current state of stablecoins, their paper on the hidden plumbing of stablecoins, the basic mechanics of stablecoins, the technical and operational risks of stablecoins, the implications...

Jesús Fernández-Villaverde on the Quandary of Global Demographic Decline

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Subscribe to the new ! Jesús Fernández-Villaverde is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Jesús returns to the show to discuss his rise on X, how to frame global demographic decline, the three accelerants of demographic decline, the role of housing in family size, how AI will play a role in global demographics, what we know about AGI, the question of dollar dominance, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on February 20th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow...

Chris Meissner on the History of Globalization

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Subscribe to the new ! Chris Meissner is a professor of economics at University of California at Davis and is the author of the recent book One from the Many: The Global Economy Since 1850. In Chris’s first appearance on the podcast he discusses the historical bend towards greater globalization, how we should really define the global economy, the impact of the Great Financial Crisis on globalization and populism, the scope of globalization from the 1820’s to today, the validity of the China Shock, the United States’ current move away from globalization, and much more. Check out...

Raghuram Rajan on the Impact of the Ratcheting Effect of The Fed’s QE Program

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Subscribe to the new ! Raghuram Rajan is a finance professor at the University of Chicago and leads the Group of 30. Previously he was the chief economist at the IMF and the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. In Raghuram’s first appearance on the show, he discusses his famous 2005 Jackson Hole speech, how he righted the ship on India’s emerging economy, the consequences of zero-sum thinking, the differences between being a policymaker and an academic, the ratcheting effect of QE on the Fed’s balance sheet, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with...

Andrew Martinez on the Art of Forecasting

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Andrew Martinez is a former Treasure economist and currently is an assistant professor of economics at American University. In Andrew’s first appearance on the show, he discusses his career as a forecaster, the current state of forecasting, the intersection of AI and forecasting, the role of the SEP and monetary policy surprises, his work with David on the NGDP Gap measure, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 13th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow the show...

Dan Awrey on the Future of the U.S. Payments System in a Digital World

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Dan Awrey is a professor of Law at Cornell University and the author of the new book Beyond Banks: Technology, Regulation, and the Future of Money. Dan returns to the show to discuss his new book, the shadow monetary system, the case for markets to correct this problem, Gresham’s new law, his proposals for fixing the payments system, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 13th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow Dan Awrey on X: Follow the show on X: Check out our Macro...

Scott Sumner on Monetary Policy Confusion in Our Current Policy Debates

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Scott Sumner is the Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair Emeritus of Monetary Policy and the founder of the Monetary Policy Program at Mercatus. Scott returns to the show, to discuss his life post Mercatus, nominal GDP counterfactuals of the pandemic and the Great Financial Crisis, the role of QE in inflation, the fears about Fed independence, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 15th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow the show on X: Check out our Macro Musings to David's new BTS...

Tyler Muir on How to Understand the Fed’s Quantitative Easing

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Tyler Muir is a professor of finance at UCLA. In Tyler’s first appearance on the show, he discusses how he became a leading scholar on quantitative easing, what things the Fed can learn in responding to crises, why QE matters, how QE transformed the bond market, the new “Tyler Rule”, QE’s role in the COVID Pandemic, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 8th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow Tyler Muir on X: Follow the show on X: Check out our Macro Musings ...

Richard Berner on Growth of the Private Credit and the Role of Fiscal Dominance on Treasury Markets

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Richard Berner is the former director of the Office of Financial Research and was a counselor of the Treasury Secretary. In Richard’s first appearance on the show, he discusses a career that included public service and Wall Street, the fragility of global liquidity, the implications of fiscal dominance, the expansion of private credit, the 2023 SVB banking turmoil, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 7th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow the show on X: Check out our Macro...

Aaron Klein on the US’s Real-Time Payments Problem and the Impact of Covid Era Quantitative Easing

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Aaron Klein is a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. Aaron returns to the show to discuss his paper with George Selgin calling for real time payments, the inequality caused by the Fed’s current payment processes, the results of Covid time QE, recommendations for dealing with future crises, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on December 11th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow Aaron Klein on X: Follow the show on X: Check out our Macro Musings to...

More Episodes

George Selgin is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and is a returning guest to the podcast. He rejoins Macro Musings to talk about the Fed’s recent calls for comments on opening up Fed accounts to fintechs and other non-bank financial firms. George and David also discuss monetary plumbing issues, the state of fiscal QE, and more.

Transcript for the episode can be found here.

George’s Twitter: @GeorgeSelgin

George’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin

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