Economists Are Swapping Ideas in a Place Called Markus’ Academy

Financial markets hang on every word of Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. So whose words does Powell hang on? One source is a year-old online gathering spot for professional economists called Markus’ Academy that’s featured talks by the biggest stars in the profession, including Daron Acemoglu, Raj Chetty, John Cochrane, Tyler Cowen, Angus Deaton, Esther Duflo, Pinelopi Goldberg, Gita Gopinath, Paul Krugman, Philip Lane, Nellie Liang, William Nordhaus, Emily Oster, Paul Romer, Robert Shiller, Hyun Song Shin, Joseph Stiglitz, Lawrence Summers, and Jean Tirole.

Powell revealed his interest in Markus’ Academy when he was invited to speak in January by its founder and host, Markus Brunnermeier of Princeton University. Brunnermeier was endearingly inarticulate in introducing the Fed chief, describing him as “the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank … the governors of the Federal Reserve … hi, Jay.” Powell later said, “Thanks for these webcasts. I’ve listened to a number of them and I found them very interesting and thought-provoking, and I’ll be very honored to join your wall of guests with my photograph if you’ll put it up after this.”