Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/an-evaluation-of-the-fed-treasury

Link to sign up for the webinar series:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On May 11, 2020, Jeremy Stein joined Markus' Academy for a webinar, co-hosted by the Princeton Bendheim Center for Finance and the Society for Financial Studies, on the COVID-19 credit programs recently implemented by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury. Stein is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University and a former member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[16:43] Stein’ presentation begins

[18:14] Why support businesses in the first place?

[24:54] Mnuchin as Bagehot?

[28:53] High-level policy goals: micro and macro

[39:08] Existing program overview

[41:41] Public firm coverage

[47:52] Main Street programs in more detail

[54:25] Hardness of debt claims is a particular worry

[59:40] How to think about the staged-finance aspect

[1:02:41] Summary

[1:05:08] Audience Q&A

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/the-benefits-of-targeted-policies

Link to sign up for the webinar series:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On May 8, 2020, Daron Acemoglu joined Markus' Academy for a webinar on his paper on the benefits of targeted policies for lifting lockdowns and recovering from COVID-19 (Acemoglu et al., 2020). Acemoglu is a Professor of Economics at MIT.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[7:58] Beginning of Acemoglu’s presentation

[8:45] Background

[9:47] Varieties of heterogeneity

[12:12] What we do

[12:43] Summary of main findings

[16:53] Key equations

[25:13] Parameter choices

[28:18] Optimal uniform policy

[31:36] Optimal semi-targeted policy

[34:26] Optimal fully-targeted policy

[35:28] The Pareto frontier

[37:57] With greater value of life, another interesting contrast

[42:09] Bigger gains with between-group distancing

[43:18] Even bigger gains with testing-tracing

[44:34] Conclusion

[45:20] Audience Q&A

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/the-future-of-globalization-after

Link to sign up for the webinar series:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On May 4, 2020, Dani Rodrik joined Markus' Academy for a webinar on COVID-19. Rodrik is a Professor of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[13:34] Beginning of Rodrik presentation

[14:33] Economic overview

[22:55] Making a globalization

[28:37] Different economic globalizations in history

[32:55] The globalization backlash under the gold standard

[34:17] Why global rules? 

[36:01] Almost all policies have cross-border spillovers

[42:08] The limited case for global rules in economics

[50:39] Implications for the kind of globalization we should want

[56:29] Applying the logic to US-China trade

[1:00:31] The four buckets approach

[1:14:52] Conclusion

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/encouraging-the-development-and-manufacturing

Link to sign up for the webinar series:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On May 1, 2020, Michael Kremer joined Markus' Academy for a webinar on COVID-19. Kremer is a Professor of Developing Studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University and a 2019 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[1:06] Markus’ introduction

[10:19] Beginning of Kremer’s presentation

[13:40] Is it worth building large-scale capacity in parallel with trials?

[17:57] Back of the envelope calculations

[21:46] Calculating the optimal number of vaccine candidates

[25:40] Structuring funding

[28:27] Proposed funding structure

[32:39] Calculating required pull funding

[34:48] Pull funding

[35:48] Supply chains: For want of a vial, the vaccine may be lost

[37:09] Could international cooperation be incentive compatible?

[50:01] Innovations to speed vaccine trials

[1:07:19] Conclusion

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/the-us-response-to-covid-19

Link to sign up for the webinar series:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On April 27, 2020, Joseph Stiglitz joined the Princeton Bendheim Center for Finance for a webinar on COVID-19. Stiglitz is a Professor at Columbia University and a 2001 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[10:31] Beginning of Stiglitz’s presentation

[16:46] Background: US was ill-prepared for crisis

[20:47] Objective of government programs

[21:44] Maintaining health

[24:45] Underlying economics

[29:29] Protecting the vulnerable and maintaining workers’ link with workplace

[33:17] Explaining the failure

[36:50] Further problems with PPP

[43:55] Establishing pre-conditions for strong and quick recovery: providing liquidity

[45:22] Three critical risks for the recovery
[53:52] Worries about inflation?
[58:05] Audience questions

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/covid-19-debt-monetization-and-lessons

Link to sign up for the webinar series:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On April 24, 2020, Harold James joined Markus' Academy for a webinar on the history of war financing and lessons for COVID-19. James is a Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[17:39] James’ presentation begins

[18:29] Learning from past disasters?

[19:34] Wartime

[21:29] The immediate response

[31:26] Central bank financing

[35:51] Inflation

[36:38] Dramatic changes in relative prices

[39:45] Two contrasting models: UK/US vs. Central Europe

[44:52] Postwar monetary and fiscal management

[46:09] German inflation, 1914-1923

[47:31] Taxation (US)

[50:43] Non-financial corporate debt

[51:56] Longer-term perspectives

[56:55] Exceptionality of 1945-1979 Period

[58:44] Audience questions

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/capital-flows-to-emerging-market

Link to sign up for the webinar series: 

https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On April 20, 2020, Hyun Song Shin joined Markus' Academy for a webinar on capital flows to emerging market economies. Shin is the Economic Adviser and the Head of Research for the Bank for International Settlements.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction:

[21:23] Beginning of Song Shin presentation

[23:15] Lenders lend to their own currency

[24:06] Private-sector borrowers are subject to the “original sin”

[24:34] Canadian corporate bond issuance

[27:14] Exception is the US and US dollar

[27:32] US Corporate bonds issuance

[28:28] Liabilities side of lenders balance sheet looms into view

[30:40] Audience Questions/Clarifications

[33:46] Lessons from the 1990s EME financial crises

[35:16] Overcoming original sin:

[40:28] Duration measures

[43:18] EME local currency sovereign bond returns, January 2013 - October 2018

[48:40] Advanced economies sovereign bond returns, January 2013 - October 2018

[50:24] Domestic Market Lenders Questions

[53:07] Covid-19 Shock in March

[54:19] Foreign ownership in EME local currency bond markets

[59:50] US dollar and local currency returns vis-â-vis yield changes

[1:00:20] Monetary policy frameworks

Follow the link for the full summary:

https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/international-trade-and-supply-chains

Link to sign up for the webinar series: ⁠https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On April 17, 2020, Pinelopi Goldberg joined the Bendheim Center for Finance for a seminar on how COVID-19 might impact international trade and supply chains. Goldberg is a Professor of Economics at Yale University and a former Chief Economist at the World Bank.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[14:22] Beginning of Goldberg presentation

[17:13] Road map for this talk

[17:51] What is a Global Value Chain

[21:10] Which countries participate in Global Value Chains

[22:10] GVC expansion in the last four decades

[23:28] Transmission Phase

[29:40] Trade, GVCs and Crisis Management

[43:19] Would a national focus solve problems for critical products? 

[47:55] Need for Global Coordination

[53:56] Economic Effects of GVCs

[59:45] The Nature of the Shocks

[1:02:48] Effects on countries depends on where countries are located in the global value chain

[1:05:28] Expected Economic Effects in the GVC Era

[1:07:09] Long Run Implications? 

[1:11:56] Audience Q&A

Follow the link for the full summary: https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/what-covid-19-means-for-inequality

Link to sign up for the webinar series: https://markusacademy.substack.com/

On April 13, 2020, Nobel Laureate Sir Angus Deaton joined Markus' Academy for a seminar on the implications of COVID-19 for inequality and “deaths of despair.” Deaton is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus at the Woodrow Wilson School and the Economics Department at Princeton University and a 2015 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics. He is the co-author, along with Professor Anne Case, of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, now available from Princeton University Press.

Download the slides here.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Markus’ introduction

[13:06] Deaton presentation begins

[13:41] Background: Synopsis of the book

[17:12] Analogy with deaths from coronavirus? 

[19:43] Evidence and arguments

[26:35] Maybe this recession is different?

[28:44] Effects on life expectancy

[30:31] Deaths: Additions and subtractions

[34:57] Healthcare industry

[39:01] Smith’s “Absurd and Oppressive Monopolies"

[40:42] Healthcare and COVID-19

[42:35] The villain scenario

[43:53] COVID-19 and inequality

[50:28] India

[52:55] Less clear long run

[56:17] Audience Q&A

Follow the link for the full summary: https://markusacademy.substack.com/p/the-future-social-and-political-implications 

Explore the webinar series: https://markusacademy.substack.com/archive

On April 10, 2020, Tyler Cowen joined Princeton's Bendheim Center for Finance for a seminar on the future social and political implications of Covid-19. Tyler Cowen is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a co-author of the Marginal Revolution blog on economics and economic policy.

Download the slides here.*

Timestamps: 

[0:00] Markus' introduction 

[12:26] Beginning of Cowen's presentation 

[14:58] Public opinion on China 

[17:53] How voters see politicians 

[21:53] Left, right, and center political views 

[31:31] Business world and well-capitalized firms 

[40:02] Deglobalization and less immigration 

[53:19] Social distancing 

[55:05] Which countries/sectors will recover most quickly 

[58:36] United States, rising or falling