On the first podcast of 2025, the Inside Economics crew discusses the outlook for the year ahead and delves into the Risk Matrix, a visual depiction of the major risks facing the global economy. Mark, Cris and Marisa each pick a risk to highlight and then give their wildest predictions for 2025, some of which are not very serious. To view the Risk …

In the last Inside Economics podcast of the year, the team is joined by our colleague Justin Begley to discuss the incoming Trump administration’s seeming view that smaller government means stronger economic growth. Will the new government agency DOGE, a more relaxed anti-trust policy, and lighter regulation successfully lift the economy’s prospect…

The Inside Economics hosts welcome Professor Alice Kassens to discuss her use of the Inside Economics podcast as a teaching tool at Roanoke College. Alice describes how the podcast inspires her students to learn about and debate the meaning of economic releases. After a quick round of the statistics game which Alice dominates, the group discusses t…

Inside Economics had the fortune to have Alan Blinder, Princeton University economics professor, former Vice Chair of the Fed, and author of the recent book “The Monetary and Fiscal Policy History of the United States, 1961-2021” join the podcast on the day the Fed cut rates but warned investors not to count on more rate cuts anytime soon. At least…

The Inside Economics team weighs this past week’s inflation data and considers what it means for the Fed’s interest rate decision next week and in 2025. With sticky inflation, a strong(er) economy, easier financial conditions, and looming tariffs and immigrant deportations, more rate cuts next year appear increasingly less likely, and rate hikes ev…

Mark, Cris, and Marisa are joined by their colleague Adam Kamins and his infamous closet doors, along with Rebecca Rockey, Deputy Chief Economist at Cushman Wakefield, and Chris Leinberger, Managing Director at Places Platform. Rebecca and Chris review key takeaways from their recent study, Reimagining Cities-Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop. Among t…

With Marisa out on assignment, Dante joins Mark and Cris to discuss the latest U.S. employment report. After several volatile months due to hurricanes and labor strikes, the job market found its footing in November, with payroll growth reported across most industries. The team considers the report's implications for monetary policy and the long-run…

Moody’s Analytics own Scott Hoyt joins the Inside Economics team to discuss the state of the American consumer, as the critical Christmas buying season is set to begin. Consumers have been powering the broader economy, and the team expects that to continue. But there are a number of consumer-related puzzles, which the team works to solve. Guest: Sc…

Joe Hazell, Assistant Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, joins the podcast to discuss inflation. Joe breaks down the reasons for the lack of inflation in the pre-pandemic period and the primary causes of inflation over the past four years. The team discusses why the average American is much more sensitive to inflation than un…

The Inside Economics team assesses the inflation statistics, and why there is no going back to the where prices were prior to fallout from the pandemic and Russian war in Ukraine. And while inflation has largely been quelled, President-elect Trump’s tariff, immigration and other policies threaten to fan inflation anew. There is also the stats game …

Chris Avallone, Head of Merchant Banking at Amherst, joins the Inside Economics crew to discuss the housing market. The group examines the "lock-in" effect keeping existing homeowners in their homes and the "lock-out" effect preventing aspiring homebuyers from realizing their dreams. Chris describes a playbook that local governments could use to ad…

Mark joins the podcast from Europe to provide the European perspective on the U.S. election and how the outcome may affect their economies. The team then dissects the reactions of the stock, bond, and cryptocurrency markets before turning to listener questions. Marisa asks the group for their views on the vibecession, a term coined by Kyla Scanlon,…

Dante joins the podcast to discuss the October employment report. The impact of recent strikes and hurricanes weighed on the headline jobs figure, but everyone agrees that underlying job growth remains strong. Cris and Mark debate the reasons why productivity growth in the U.S. has outpaced the rest of the world, but Dante remains skeptical that re…

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, joins Mark and Cris to discuss vexillology, potential election outcomes, and the impact of proposed immigration and tariff policies on the economy. After a quick statistics game, Doug shared his insights on the national debt and how t…

Ben Harris, Brookings’ Director of Economic Studies, joined the Inside Economics team to talk about the economy, the presidential election, and the economic policies of Vice President Harris and former President Trump. The bottom line: buckle in. The election will likely be close and contentious, and the ultimate makeup of government will result in…

Matt Colyar and Adam “Hurricane” Kamins join the podcast to discuss this week’s inflation data and the economic impact of Hurricane Milton. The team parses the latest CPI report and debates whether inflation is “sticky” or “moderating”. Adam discusses his work on estimating the economic damage from the recent string of devastating hurricanes. The t…

Mark and Cris are joined by Dante and Michael Strain, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Dante kicks things off with a detailed summary of the stronger than expected U.S. employment report for September. Buoyant wage growth and upward revisions to July and August’s numbers confirm that the economy remains heal…

Is this the best economy ever? Given the big revisions to GDP and the steady stream of other stellar economic data, the Inside Economics team makes the case that it is. Moderating inflation, full employment, stronger savings rates and steady corporate profits point to an economy that is stronger than consumer confidence suggests. The team also disc…

Economist Martin Wurm joins Inside Economics to discuss the Fed’s rate cut earlier this week, which was larger than the IE team expected. Martin talks about the decision behind the large cut and what it means for the future path of interest rates and the forecasts for the rest of the economy. The team discusses the rate decision’s impact on the hou…

The Inside Economics team breaks down the latest inflation data -- August’s consumer price index. They unpack the underlying components, focusing most of their attention on the confounding acceleration in shelter inflation. “Eggflation” makes a return to the podcast as well. Nevertheless, U.S. inflation has cooled considerably, and the Fed is set t…

The Inside Economics crew gathers in Southern California for an early morning reaction to the August jobs report, which they all concur is “pretty good”. They discuss the implications of slowing job growth for the Fed’s upcoming meetings as well as the presidential election. Finally, they all give their odds for a recession occurring in the next ye…

The Inside Economics team discusses what they found most encouraging and disquieting in the blizzard of economic releases and events of this past week. Emily Mandel, our state and local government expert, also weighs in on the fiscal health of states and how the economy is performing in states that stand to swing the Presidential election. The grou…

Brendan LaCerda (not Canadian) joins Mark, Cris & Marisa to discuss a plethora of topics, including the Canadian railroad workers strike, the revisions to the employment numbers, Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, and the Moody’s Analytics election model. The team takes a few thought-provoking listener questions on the housing market and the savi…

With the release of July’s consumer price index this week, the Inside Economics team discusses the current state of U.S. inflation. As they dig into the underlying details, they debate what they see as root causes. Specifically – are corporations taking advantage of consumers by keeping prices higher than they should? If so, are recent policy propo…

It has been a hair on fire couple weeks for global investors. Stock, bond, commodity and foreign exchange markets have been buffeted by wild swings. No better person to discuss this with than Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and formerly of the Institute of International Finance, Goldman Sachs and the IMF. Robin weighs in …

Nick Bunker from Indeed joined the podcast to break down July’s surprisingly weak employment report. The team put forward their favorite interjections before breaking down the report into causes for concern, potential measurement issues and (a few) reasons for cautious optimism. The discussion turned to the “Sahm Rule” as the group pondered whether…

Muzaffar Chishti, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, shares his insights with the Inside Economics podcast on the challenges and opportunities posed by the recent surge in foreign immigration. He dispels various misconceptions around immigration and lays out a cogent immigration reform plan. Immigration policy will be at the top of th…

John Leer, Chief Economist from Morning Consult and frequent Inside Economics guest, joins the team to discuss the past week’s slew of (mostly) very good economic data. John discusses the latest consumer sentiment surveys and why they have diverged so sharply from observed consumer behavior. He also talks about changing expectations for the upcomin…

The CrowdStrike debacle delayed this week's Inside Economics podcast but did not deter it. PNC Chief Economist Gus Faucher joined the team to talk about his outlook for the economy, the conduct of monetary policy and his thinking around the election and what it means for policy and the economy. Despite living in Pittsburgh now, it was good to hear …

Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Boston Consulting Group’s Global Chief Economist, joins the Inside Economics team to share his views on the economy and discuss his newly published book. He makes the case that macroeconomic threats are intensifying and can no longer be ignored by decisionmakers. He also provides a nifty framework for how to assess the ser…

Dante joins the podcast to break down the June employment report. While everyone agreed that the report was mostly good, concerns remain around the concentration of job gains and the slowdown in hiring. With job growth moderating and the unemployment rate edging higher, the team argues that the time is now for the Fed to start cutting rates. Link t…

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will pursue very different economic policies if reelected. Both have put forward a wide range of proposals to change the tax code, government spending, and trade, immigration and regulatory policies that if implemented could have significant consequences on the economy’s performance for years to…

The team gives their impressions of Thursday night’s Presidential debate (hint: it involves existential dread). Then, the focus switches to the latest inflation data. Matt Colyar joins to give an overview of May’s encouraging PCE deflator report and what it implies for Fed policy. The episode closes with a roundtable discussion about the long and v…

The Inside Economics podcast welcomes Jason Dorsey to talk about the generations that characterize the American population. The conversation takes up what event(s) define each generation, from 9/11 for the Millennials to COVID for Gen Z, and then turns to each generation’s traits and behaviors. The podcast was generationally well-balanced, with Mar…

As long as inflation remains above the Fed’s target, and the Fed maintains its higher for longer interest rate policy in response, it is premature to conclude the economy has soft-landed. This episode is a replay of the “Stubborn Inflation, Reluctant Fed” webinar hosted by Chief Economist Mark Zandi and team, as they discuss what it will take for i…

Matt and Marisa join Mark, who called in from an undisclosed location, to discuss this week’s CPI report and FOMC meeting on interest rates. They all agree that the CPI numbers were unambiguously positive and that the Fed will begin to cut interest rates this fall. They play the statistics game, made more difficult by the dearth of economic release…

In a rare Saturday morning taping of the podcast, Dante and Matt join Mark (where’s Cris and Marisa?) to disentangle the considerable crosscurrents in the May jobs report. Surging immigration is complicating interpretation of the numbers. Next week’s all-important report on consumer price inflation was also the fodder of discussion, as was Mark’s W…

Mark, Marisa, and Cris are joined by their colleague Matt Colyar as they delve into the resilience of the U.S. economy. Matt kicks off the conversation with a rundown of the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data and its implications for monetary policy. Following a brief, engaging Stats Game, the team explores the reasons be…

Stock prices, house values, and even gold and crypto prices have never been higher. The team discuss the reasons why, whether it is a bubble, where prices are headed and what it all means for consumers and the broader economy. They also play the game and take listener questions. Keep them coming dear listener. Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, M…

Jonathan Smoke from Cox Automotive and Mike Brisson of Moody’s join the crew for a discussion of inflation and autos. The team dissects this week’s CPI report, which while not great, at least wasn’t worse than expected. Mark argues that the Fed should be looking through the inflation data that’s mixed up with the problematic measures of housing inf…

The Inside Economics team is joined by Moody’s Analytics colleague Chris Lafakis along with Trevor Houser from the Energy & Climate practice at Rhodium Group for a discussion on how the Inflation Reduction Act promotes the U.S.'s transition to green energy. Podcast host Mark Zandi kicks things off with a quick overview of recent economic developmen…

Inside Economics regular Dante DeAntonio joins the podcast to discuss the April jobs report. It was something of a surprise, but a happy one, at least for Dante and Mark. The job market remains strong, but is cooling, opening the window just a bit for the Fed to begin cutting rates. But Cris and Marisa weren’t so sure, worried that the report may s…

The Inside Economics team is down a regular with Cris on the road, but two Moody’s Analytics colleagues, Adam Kamins and Laura Ratz, try to fill the void. Mark and Marisa recap a busy week by talking about GDP, inflation, and even Fed independence. The discussion of domestic migration features a healthy dose of Philadelphia homer-ism, and the team …

Deputy Chief Economist at Cushman Wakefield, Rebecca Rockey, joins the Inside Economics crew to talk about the outlook for commercial real estate and the economy in general. After unpacking the week’s economic events and a quick primer on outrigger canoe paddling, Rebecca walks the IE team through the different segments of CRE and how they’re farin…

The disappointing March report on consumer price inflation is the fodder for this week’s Inside Economics podcast. The team considers just how big of a disappointment it was, and conclude it turns on second and third significant digits. Yes, that’s what it has come to when assessing just when Fed officials will feel sufficiently confident that infl…

Moody’s Analytics colleagues Elise Burton, Dawn Holland and Olia Kuranova join the podcast this week to discuss global female labor force participation and how it has changed since the pandemic. They identify a few key reasons for the recent narrowing of gender participation gaps, explore the economic impact of increased female participation, and d…

The March 2024 jobs report was picture perfect. Cris thought he had found a blemish in the numbers, but on closer inspection, not so much. Dante and Marisa explained how the economy could create so many jobs without fanning wage and price pressures. Think foreign immigration. And like stock investors, Mark found plenty to like in the report. Follow…

The Inside Economics team is joined by their Moody's Analytics colleagues, Mike Brisson and Steve Cochrane, to discuss the economic fallout from the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the subsequent closure of the Port of Baltimore. Mark Zandi kicks off the show with a rundown of the latest economic data and a healthy debate on the…

Heidi Shierholz, President of the Economic Policy Institute, joins the podcast to discuss the ongoing skewing of the income distribution. There’s a lengthy list of reasons why more of the economic pie is going to those in the top of the distribution, from less unionization and lax enforcement of labor laws, but you would be surprised to hear what’s…

Listeners of Inside Economics have been demanding a podcast on the nation’s debt, and now they have it. At least one side of it. We talk deficits and debt with Paul Sheard, former Chief Economist of S&P Global. To Mark and team’s surprise, Paul explains why he isn’t worried about the nation’s fiscal trajectory. More views on this to come. For more …