The Grumpy Economist

What’s in the reconciliation bill? A conversation with Casey Mulligan

Hoover Institution fellow John Cochrane talks with Casey Mulligan about what’s in the reconciliation bill. They focus on how the programs will work, or fail to work as well as what incentives and disincentives do they give.

The Long And Short Of Bubbles

John Cochrane speaks with Wellington Management’s Owen Lamont on the recent attempts to influence the stock market and damage the liquidity of hedge funds by day traders using social media to coordinate their efforts. 

 

A Free Market in … Vaccines?

John Cochrane analyzes how a lack of market forces have impeded everything from the development of a COVID vaccine, to its distribution, to efforts to get the economy reopened.

The Future Of Cities. A Conversation With Harvard’s Ed Glaeser

Does Zoom mean we all work from home? Will cities bounce back? Will San Francisco and New York fade and smaller cities grow? What problems are the policies causing and can cities reverse downward spirals? How to help unfortunate people who live in cities? Join us for a fast paced discussion with a leader in the field.

The Urban Future

John Cochrane examines the headwinds facing American cities in light of the COVID pandemic, urban riots, and economic hardships. Are these the leading indicators of a post-urban future? Or are our cities more resilient than we give them credit for

Slouching Towards a Debt Crisis

Federal debt has now hit 100% of GDP. With no sign that spending will be reined in anytime soon, John Cochrane looks at the possible consequences — and potential fixes for — an economy headed for a reckoning.

Dealing with Debt: Ideas from the Ridiculous to the Sublime

John Cochrane provides a critical examination of Modern Monetary Theory — and explains why an innovative financial instrument known as a perpetual bond may improve America’s ability to manage its debt load.

Welcome to the ‘Careful’ Economy

John Cochrane analyzes the difficulties of reopening the American economy with restrictive new protocols, argues that the enthusiasm for bringing industry back from China is overwrought, and warns that the risk of future inflation is real.

Stop Parties, Not Production

John Cochrane looks at the prospects that we’ll successfully reopen the economy without setting off another round of coronavirus outbreaks, explains what’s behind the models that got the virus’s trajectory so wrong, and explains how emergency economic measures could come back to haunt us in the future.

COVID on Campus

John Cochrane looks at how the coronavirus pandemic may alter American higher education, both in 2020 and beyond.