Money & Macro Talks
Money & Macro Talks features interviews with leading macroeconomists, social scientists, and financial professionals. Each episode explores the nuanced facts that shape our global economy. The podcast brings expert perspectives to help listeners understand complex economic and financial issues.
Episodes
What's really behind Korea's massive defense export boom | HB Hong
In just a couple of years, South Korea turned from one of the world's largest defense importers to exports. In this interview, Korean expert HG Hong (Platoon Magazine) explains why.
Are monopolies really taking over the economy? | Brian Albrecht
Big Tech has never been bigger. Google, Amazon and Metaserve more customers and earn bigger profits every year, and AI companies are claiming a growing share of the stock market. For many, that's a warning sign: the bigger these firms get, the harder they are to challenge, and the easier itbecomes to charge more and deliver less without losing customers. It's the opposite of how competitiv
How governments can increase fertility rates | Lyman Stone
Why have fertility rates collapsed in the past decades? Is there anything governments can do to reverse this situation? In this episode, we review the leading explanations for long-run demographic change, the role of smartphones, and the evidence for and against different policies aimed at boosting birth rates at the national level.
Economist defends rent controls | prof. Frank Braconi
Frank Braconi is one of the few economists willing to argue that rent control, properly designed, can work. But what does "properly designed" mean? When should it be used, where, and how? We discuss San Francisco's decontrol-recontrol model and whether it can blunt the harms of gentrification.
What Chinese rule will actually look like | Dr. Dave Kang
As China's star rises, people like Ray Dalio think we may see the emergence of a new tribute system. In this podcast, I discuss with tribute system expert Dr. Dave Kang what the tribute system actually was and whether or not we can anticipate seeing it return.
Can a land value tax fix housing? | Lars Doucet
Prime downtown land sits empty while cities run out of housing. Tax buildings and you punish building; tax land and you punish sitting on it. In this episode, Lars Doucet, author of Land is a Big Deal, discusses the history and relevance of land value taxes to prevent land speculation and address the housing affordability crisis.
What over 100 studies reveal about rent controls? | Prof. Konstantin Kholodilin
What does sixty years of evidence actually say about rent control? Konstantin Kholodilin (DIW Berlin) read 112 empirical studies to find out. We go through the results.
Why birth rates are falling everywhere all at once | John Burn-Murdoch
Fertility rates are falling in the Europe and the US, but also in places China, Tunisia and Colombia. What can explain this global trend, and what are the political and economic consequences of low birth rates societies? In this episode, we bring FT chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch to make sense about these trends.
Why demographics will change everything | Prof. Charles Goodhart
https://unanchoredcentralbanker.com/
Is economics a science? | Adam Mastroianni
What do we mean when we label economics a a science? Can social sciences ever develop a paradigm? In this interview, psychologist Adam Mastroianni discusses the state of psychology as a science and how paradigms improve scientific progress.
How are the Gulf economies holding up? | Prof. Steffen Hertog
This is an update to my conversation with Gulf economy expert Prof. Steffen Hertog. We are already five months into the Iran war now: How much longer will the strait of Hormuz remain closed? and what could that mean for the Gulf countries?
Why everyone is wrong about Japan's economy | Takuji Aida (Sanaenomics advisor)
Takuji Aida, advisor to prime minister Sanae Takaichi, explains Sanaenomics.
Why you should worry more about inequality? | Prof. Morten Nyborg
Is inequality harmful, or should economist focus more on absolute poverty? In this interview, prof. Morten Nyborg presents inequality as an externality and discusses the different policy tools to reduce it.
What economists get wrong about public debt? | Prof. Steve Keen
In this episode, I sat down with Professor Keen to ask him about his views on inflation, public debt, and how governments should respond to global shocks.
Is the wealth tax actually working for Norway | Prof. Ole-Andreas Næss
Wealth taxes are the key policy proposal to prevent wealth from concentrating at the top, and they're now being discussed in both the US and the UK. In this episode, we dig into the recent Norwegian experience with wealth taxation. How big was the response from the wealthy? Did the tax raise enough revenue to compensate for the capital flight? And what are the lessons for other countries consi
How are Europe's economies holding up? Dr. Oscar Arse (ECB)
ECB Director general economics on how Europe's economies are responding to the Hormuz energy shock.Publications mentioned by Oscar below:https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2026/html/ecb.blog20260603~3015f38292.en.htmlhttps://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250508~897078ce87.en.htmlhttps://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2026/html/ecb.blog20260309~3a4841b028.en.ht
What´s next after the reopening of Hormuz? Prof. Steve Keen
This is the first part of our interview with prof. Keen, where we talk about the economic consequences of the Iran war and what to expect after the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Why firms actually underpay their workers? Prof. Arin Dube
For decades, productivity and wages grew together. Then they didn't. Since the 1970s, workers across the developed world have become significantly more productive, yet their wages have largely stagnated. Where did the gains go, and what can policy actually do about it?In this episode, we examine the central argument of The Wage Standard, the new book by labor economist Arindrajit Dube. Dube ar
Why governments can borrow more than they think. Prof. Bezemer
Are governments finally hitting their debt limits? In this interview, Professor Dirk discusses the role of bond markets and central banks on government borrowing
Are we already in a new World War? prof. Paul Poast
Interview with prof. Paul Poast from University of Chicago
Will western governments soon hit their debt limits? Prof. John Cochrane
Economics professor John Cochrane discusses the limits of government borrowing. Is public debt sustainable? What caused the latest inflation episode?
What happens when you tax the rich? Prof. Wojciech Kopczuk
Columbia Professor Wojciech Kopczuk discusses progressive taxation. Is the US tax system less progressive than European systems? What are the potential and the limitations of a wealth tax?
Why we are getting poorer | Dr. Cahal Moran (Unlearning Economics)
Interview on the book why we are getting poorer with Dr. Cahal Moran the man behind the YouTube channel Unlearning Economics.
How are Gulf economies holding up? prof. Steffen Hertog
LSE professor Steffen Hertog gives an overview of how the various Gulf economies are holding up after almost 2 months of the US-Israel vs. Iran war and the closure of the strait of Hormuz.
There is NO Venture Capital shortage in Europe | Jasper H. van Dijk
Jasper van Dijk from the Dutch Institute for Public Economics on why a lack of venture capital is NOT why Europe lacks big recent firms.
How firms lobby for low-skilled immigration. Prof. Alan Manning
Interview with LSE professor Alan Manning about his recent book: Why Immigration Policy is Difficult and How to Make it Better.
What does Iran want? Prof. Vasil Nasr
Interview with the author of the book: Iran's Grand Strategy.
Why populism is taking over the West | prof. Sheri Berman
Discussion with Columbia university professor Sheri Berman on the history, characteristics and causes of populism.
What does China want? | profs Kang, Wong & Chan
Interview about a thought provoking paper analyzing thousands of CCP internal communications about what China wants on the world stage.
What kind of immigrants do we actually want? dr. Alexandor Kustov
Interview with Notre Dame associate professor Alexander Kustov on the research he did for his book In Our Interest: How Democracies Can Make Immigration Popular
Are immigrants taking or creating jobs? prof. Jan Stuhler
Interview with Madrid professor on Jan Stuhler about the effects of immigrants on labor markets.
Inequality is not the problem | prof. Lane Kenworthy
Interview with professor Lane Kenworthy about whether or not inequality is really such a big problem as people think.
Why Europe is getting safer, despite migration | prof. Paolo Pinotti
Interview with Bocconi professor Paolo Pinotti about the relationship between migration and crime.
The coming demographics earthquake ft. prof Charles Goodhart
If you got value from this interview, please support the podcast with a 'coffee a month' at https://www.patreon.com/moneymacro or consider buying me a 'coffee' at https://ko-fi.com/moneymacro
Dr. Wess Mitchell defends Trump's foreign policy
Interview with Dr. Wes Mitchell, who is the author of the book Great Power Diplomacy, The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Kissinger. He's also co-founder of the think tank, the Marathon Initiative, and, very relevant for this discussion, he was Assistant Secretary of State under the first Trump administration.
What Trump's foreign policy is really about | prof Goddard & Newman
Professors Stacie Goddard (Wellesley college) and Abraham Newman (Georgetown University) explain their viral new Neo-Royalism theory that can explain Trump's strange actions with Joeri Schasfoort from Money & Macro.
The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence ft Jens Ludwig
In this episode of Money & Macro Talks, writer Alejandro Iribas De La Puerta sits down with economist Jens Ludwig for a deep, evidence-driven conversation on how to truly reduce gun violence in America. Drawing on insights from his book, The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence, Ludwig breaks down what interventions have actually worked, which policies have fallen short, and—most import
China's mineral dominance: how the West should respond ft. Tobias Gehrke
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Tobias Gherke senior fellow on the European Council on Foreign relations about the Geo-Economics of critical minerals.We discuss what critical minerals are important, how China became so dominant, who the other major players are, and how the West can respond to China's dominance.
Should private banks create most of our money? ft. Thomas Bollen
In this episode, I talk to financial journalist Thomas Bollen about how to reform our monetary financial system to reduce the need for bailouts. Check out Thomas's book in Dutch here: Geld genoeg, maar niet voor jou, Thomas Bollen | 9789083398679 | Boeken | bolOr his work on mapping the monetary system: Waterworks of Money
Why monopolies are eating our economies ft. Jan Eeckhout
Professor Jan Eeckhout makes his case about the profit paradox, which states that big companies are becoming too profitable. This is no longer good for the economy.
A massive basic income experiment in Africa | Dennis Egger (Oxford University)
To join the village fundraiser, help send life changing cash and support research like this, visit https://www.givedirectly.org/macro/
Interview with Oxford prof Dennis Egger about his
Econometrica paper:
General Equilibrium Effects of Cash Transfers: Experimental Evidence From Kenya, with
Johannes Haushofer, Edward Miguel, Paul Niehaus, Michael Walker
I interviewed the ECB’s Chief Economist on inflation & rates
Interview with Philip Lane about the past & future of inflation & interest rates in the Eurozone.
Armenia’s Radical New Monetary Policy Approach | Governor Martin Galstyan & Armen Nurbekyan
I talked to Armenia's central bank governors Martin Galstyan & Armen Nurbekyan about
(1) how the history of central banking in Armenia led to them adopting a systematic approach to monetary policy, (2) how this then led them to adopt this new scenario based approach, (3) how that differs from what other central banks do, and (3) finally what scenarios the governors are now considering for
Was MMT Wrong About Inflation? | Stephanie Kelton (The Deficit Myth)
I talked to professor Stephanie Kelton about whether or not Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is still relevant today; how well her book the Deficit Myth is holding up, what caused the inflation spike, whether central banks are the ones driving inflation down, what the role of the government should be in controlling inflation, and how MMT applies to non-reserve currency countries like the UK.
How the Financial Times Became so Successful | John Ridding (CEO)
I talked to FT CEO John Ridding about how the FT transitioned from a British oriented physical newspaper to a globally oriented digital one. We also discuss who reads the FT, what it's business model is, the role of A.I. in journalism, and how the FT strives to combine quality journalism with a viable business.
Why we Need a Digital Euro | Evelien Witlox (ECB)
In this episode I talked to Evelien Witlox, who is the Digital Euro program director at the European Central bank, about why we need a digital Euro. How will it work? How will it impact the financial system? We also discussed concerns around privacy, programmable money, and the continued availability of cash.
The Offshore Global Dollar System | ft. Jeff Snider
In this episode I’m interviewing Jeff Snider, host of the Eurodollar University podcast, about the importance of the Eurodollar market and true monetary principles.
The Global Everything Crisis | ft. Patrick Boyle
In this episode I talk with Patrick Boyle about the multiple crises in the financial sector; i.e. in the emergent markets, crypto and stockmarket.
Designing A Crypte Reserve Currency | ft. Nevin Freeman
In this episode I talk with Nevin Freeman about the potential of cryptocurrencies as reserve currencies.
Decentralized Stablecoins | ft. Rick Pardoe (Liquity)
In this episode I talk with Rick Pardoe about Liquity, a Stablecoin project in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.
Inflation | ft. Unlearning Economics
In this episode I talk with researcher and Youtuber Unlearning Economics about inflation.
Macroeconomics For Investors | ft. The Plain Bagel
In this episode I talk with Richard from The Plain Bagel about the importance of macroeconomics for investors.
Independent Financial Journalism | ft. Izabelle Kaminska
In this episode I talk to Izabelle Kaminska, former Financial Times editor, about independent journalism.
Resilience in Economics | ft. Prof. Markus Brunnermeier
In this episode I talk with professor Markus Brunnermeier (Princeton University) about his latest book "The Resilient Society".
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) Is Misunderstood | ft. Warren Mosler
In this episode I have a long conversation with Warren Mosler. Warren is an American economist and hedge fund manager, and he is known as the founding father of Modern Monetary Theory or MMT, an increasingly popular but controversial theory on money, currency, and unemployment.
The Global Debt Mountain | ft. Prof. Dirk Bezemer
In this episode I talk with professor Dirk Bezemer (University of Groningen) about the global debt mountain.
The IMF Controversy | ft. Econoboi
In this livestream, I talked to YouTube streamer Econoboi about his recent debate with popular streamer Vaush about the controversial role of the IMF in global development.
