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Monday, August 22, 2016

Macro Musings Podcast: Doug Irwin



My latest Macro Musings podcast is with Doug Irwin. Doug is a professor of economics at Dartmouth College, a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, and former staff member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. Doug also served as an economist at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.

Doug is one of the leading experts on trade economics and has published widely on the topic, in both journals and books. His books include Free Trade Under Fire, Against the Tide, an Intellectual History of Free Trade, and Peddling Protectionism: Smooth-Hawley and the Great Depression. Doug is currently working on The Battle Over U.S. Trade Policy a Historical Look at U.S. Trade Policy Since the Founding of the Country and has also researched the role the interwar gold standard played during the Great Depression. 

Doug joined me for a fascinating conversation on trade. We began the show by reviewing the main arguments for free trade and why it seems to have taken a black eye this election cycle. Among other things, we consider whether the sluggish recovery since the crisis has been a reason for why free trade has become so much more contentious, not only here but in other advanced economies. 

We then discuss some of the recent research on trade as well as some of the recent and not-so-good popular work on the topic. Along the way we consider whether free trade is a good idea for small, developing economies. 

To help put the trade debate in perspective, we then review the development of trade policy in U.S. history. Finally, we talk about the role the interwar gold standard played in creating the Great Depression. It was a great conversation throughout. This is timely topic. 

You can listen to the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes,  or your favorite podcast app. You can also listen via the embedded player above. And remember to subscribe since more shows are coming!

Related Links
Doug Irwin's personal web page
Dout Irwin's twitter account

P.S. Here is a link to the upcoming monetary policy conference.

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