Economics

The honorable guest for this installment is Atif Mian, Theodore A. Wells '29 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and Director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance at the Woodrow Wilson School. Professor Mian will first discuss if there are any "revolutionary" changes happened in macroeconomic academia since the Great Recession.

Welcome to the latest installment of our interview series “Where is the General Theory of the 21st Century?” and part two of our interview with Branko Milanovic, Visiting Presidential Professor at the Graduate Center...

John Cochrane talks about Fiscal Theory of Price Level and how can we apply this theory on the current macroeconomy.

Cochrane discusses with us his view on the development in Macroeconomics since the Great Depression. He also explains what Neo-Fisherian and Fiscal Theory of Price Level are, and why they are important for understanding the current economic situation around the world.

Following our discussion on post-2008 Macroeconomics developments and the importance of DSGE models in part I of the interview, we asked Prof. Christiano about one of his recent and important research paper "Understanding the Great Recession". What does his model tell us about the Great Recession? Does labor participation rate have a role in the developments of the Great Recession? These are the questions we've discussed with Prof. Christiano, and he has some great answers.

>Professor Olivier Blanchard further explained the role empirical research on DSGE models, how to teach undergraduates macro after the Great Recession, and his research on hysteresis.

"There is a big difference between saying you want to allow for city-scale reform zones that will encourage reform of government and innovation in government, and saying that you want to do away with government entirely and let a corporate entity run a private city," says Nobel winning economist Paul Romer.

In this interview, Prof Christiano shared his view on the development of post-2008 academic macroeconomics. We’ve asked Prof Christiano does he agree that modern macroeconomic models are too complicated for the general public, or even policymakers and if he agrees that economic models should be “simpler”. Does he think the recent revival of ISLM model a “good trend”? Should Macroeconomists hang on their faith in DSGE models? Should they explore alternative paths?

In this interview, Prof. Farmer explains to us: Why are multiple equilibria modeling better compared to the standard unique equilibrium model? Why should "belief" be an important component to macroeconomic modeling? Why should central banks consider stock market intervention in stabilizing the employment markets?

Rodrik tells us that good economists think in terms of models, and there are major differences between models and theory. He also comments on macroeconomists quest on finding the "one true model" on the business cycle,