My latest Macro Musings podcast is with George Selgin, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives. We discuss in depth Selgin's call for a a Productivity Norm, a nominal income target for central banks that would result in inflation moving inversely with expected productivity growth. That is, he would have central banks stabilize aggregate demand growth but allow more price level flexibility based on technological advances. Along the way we cover the difference between benign and malign deflation and look, examine some of the historical cases of deflation, and discuss the recent productivity surge of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
It was a great conversation with George. Those listeners wanting more information on his Productivity Norm target for central banks should check out the links below.
You can listen to the podcast via iTunes or Sound Cloud, or through the embedded player. And remember to subscribe since more guest are coming!
Related Links:
Stable prices or stable spending?--George Selgin
A Brief Look at the Productivity Norm--David Beckworth
Less than Zero: the Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy--George Selgin
The Productivity Norm versus Zero Inflation in the History of Economic Thought--George Selgin
The Productivity Gap: Monetary Policy, the Subprime Boom, and the Post-2001 Productivity Surge--George Selgin, David Beckworth, Berrak Bahadir
My favorite podcast since you started. No one is better at discussing monetary economics than George Selgin. I hope he becomes a frequent guest!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed his Monetary Economics class at University of Georgia.
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