David Wessel
Brookings
United States
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Past articles by David:
Who earned PhDs in economics in 2020?
David Wessel shares findings from the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates data on the 1216 economics PhDs awarded in 2020. → Read More
Unpacking Opportunity Zones tax havens
David Wessel discusses his new book, "Only the Rich Can Play," with New York Times correspondent Jim Tankersley. → Read More
What is “average inflation targeting”?
David Wessel discusses the importance of inflation targeting, the Fed's current inflation target framework, and the alternatives. → Read More
Natural rates and ‘starred’ variables: A conversation with Yellen, Reichlin, and Rajan
Janet Yellen, Lucrezia Reichlin and Raghuram Ragan shared their views on these variables -- often called “starred” variables because economists use an asterisk to indicate that they are projected and estimated - and the uncertainty around them. → Read More
Yellen, Reichlin, and Rajan on the big questions facing central banks around the world
Janet Yellen, Lucrezia Reichlin, and Raghuram Rajan discuss the big questions facing central banks around the world these days at a Hutchins Center event. → Read More
Ten years after the financial crisis: Reflections by Bernanke, Geithner and Paulson
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, former New York Fed President and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson reflect on the responses they led to the 2007-09 global financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession. → Read More
Ten years after the financial crisis: Reflections by Bernanke, Geithner and Paulson
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, former New York Fed President and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson reflect on the responses they led to the 2007-09 global financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession. → Read More
Janet Yellen: 10 quotes on her past and the economy
The Hutchins Center picks some of their favorite quotes from a recent event with former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. → Read More
‘Secular Stagnation’ Even Truer Today, Larry Summers Says
Larry Summers is doubling down on his secular-stagnation hypothesis, David Wessel writes. → Read More
Fintech apps bring stability to stressed families
David Wessel examines the possibility recent innovations in financial technology have to make life easier for financially stressed American families. → Read More
Fintech Apps Bring Stability to Stressed Families
New apps help people save more money, pay bills and cope with fluctuations in income. → Read More
Wessel’s Take: Why Trump Might Want to Give Yellen a Second Term
Wessel’s Take: Why Trump Might Want to Give Yellen a Second Term → Read More
Trump’s bumper sticker budget won’t play well with Congress
A few (very) early observations on the first chapter of the Trump budget, the first time the new president has actually put forward dollars-and-cents proposals. “America First” has translated into … → Read More
Survey Finds Mixed Feelings on Fed Communication
A survey of longtime Federal Reserve watchers found that 60% gave Fed communication an overall grade of A or B, but four in 10 deemed the communication unhelpful both to the overall economy and to financial markets. → Read More
Student Loans: Don’t Call It a Crisis
David Wessel reviews “Student Debt” by Sandy Baum and “Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt” by Beth Akers and Matthew M. Chingos. → Read More
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart’s Retiring. Who’s Next?
The regional Fed bank president's 2017 departure should be no surprise. Here's why, and who's next. → Read More
Kohn: Challenges in implementing macroprudential policies
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, macroprudential policy tools have received much attention, but central bankers have relatively little experience implementing these policies in highly developed markets, and challenges remain. In a recent speech at the European Central Bank, Donald Kohn, the Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings and former vice chair of the… → Read More
How we picked the debt goal for The Fiscal Ship
Building a computer game on the federal budget, as we did with The Fiscal Ship (www.fiscalship.org), is a challenge. We wanted the game to be engaging and easy to grasp for people who aren’t familiar with budget minutiae. We wanted the numbers, while approximate, to be accurate enough to be meaningful. And we wanted to avoid a game that fueled unwarranted alarmism about today’s budget deficits… → Read More
Why we made a computer game about the federal budget
We decided to build a computer game. It’s called “The Fiscal Ship” —and you can play it for yourself at www.fiscalship.org. It’s a partnership between The Hutchins Center at Brookings and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. → Read More
The Hutchins Center Explains: Negative interest rates
The Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates nearly to zero in December 2008, and kept them there for seven years. But the European Central Bank and national central banks in Japan, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland took their benchmark rates below zero, a phenomenon called “negative interest rates.” It sounds weird and it’s unusual. And there’s occasional speculation that the Fed might… → Read More