Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, the Federal Reserve has amassed roughly $6.6 trillion in assets, primarily in the form of Treasury securities and government-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities. Some, including President Trump's nominee to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve Board, have suggested that the Fed should reduce the size of its balance sheet. On this episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, Darrell Duffie of Stanford University discusses how the central bank could achieve that goal and the pros and cons of ample reserves. Duffie is interviewed by David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy.

Show notes and transcript

The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 included funds for billions of dollars in federal investments in U.S.-based manufacturing, a major landmark in the history of America's industrial policy. While the full impacts of such a large bill will take years to reveal themselves, new research shows that firms have already responded to the CHIPS Act, with increases of roughly 15,000 new jobs in semiconductor production-related jobs attributable to the law. On this episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, Bilge Erten, Joseph E. Stiglitz, and Eric Verhoogen, authors of the new study, join Brookings Senior Fellow Mark Muro to discuss the employment impacts of the CHIPS Act already visible in the data as well as potential implications for future industrial policy.

Show notes and transcript

The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Monetary and fiscal policymakers use a variety of metrics to inform their decisions, but among the most important is the neutral rate of interest, also known by economists as "r*," a number that isn't directly observable. It represents the prevailing rate of interest in a smooth-running economy, and can be thought of as a target for policymakers. A new study presents a model of r* showing its decline in recent decades, as well as some potential signs that it may start creeping back upward in the coming years. On this episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, Brookings Senior Fellow Wendy Edelberg speaks to the authors of the new study, Lukasz Rachel of University College of London, about his research and the implications for the economy.

Show notes and transcript

The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.