Prompt Cast
Challenges and breakthroughs in empirical macroeconomics
TLDR Emmy Nakamura is leading breakthroughs in empirical macroeconomics by emphasizing data-driven approaches, despite challenges posed by limited historical data and changing economic conditions.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Macro and microeconomists are differentiated, with the former being criticized for not being as data-driven as the latter, but a new branch called empirical macroeconomics is making breakthroughs by focusing on actual data.
03:10
Emmy Nakamura aims to make macroeconomics more data-driven and coherent by emphasizing the importance of accurate measurement and empirical evidence.
06:13
Macroeconomics faces challenges due to the continually changing economic environment and limited data from major historical events to analyze.
09:07
The challenge for macroeconomics is navigating through constantly changing economic conditions with insufficient data to make sense of the situation.
12:09
Macroeconomics relies on the idea that prices adjust quickly to balance supply and demand, but when they don't, the effectiveness of policies like monetary and fiscal measures becomes crucial.
14:49
The speaker worked with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to retrieve and analyze historical price data from the 1970s to better understand inflation in the United States.
17:37
Emmy's research in macroeconomics has revealed that government spending can boost the economy and people's expectations about inflation are more important than previously thought.
