Basil Halperin on Macroeconomic Policy in an Age of Transformative AI
From Macro Musings with David Beckworth by Mercatus Center at George Mason University
April 27, 2026 · 56 min · Episode 540
About this episode
Basil Halperin discusses macroeconomic policy and the impact of transformative AI on the economy.
Basil Halperin is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Virginia. In Basil's first appearance on the show he discusses the famous but flawed Citrini essay, why Silicon Valley's growth expectations aren't showing up yet in interest rates, the impact of Less Than Zero by George Selgin, what the true frictions in the economy are, the differences between Calvo and menu-cost pricing, the impact of transformational AI on emerging economies and the housing market, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on March 27th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Basil Halperin on X: @BasilHalperin Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:20 - Global Intelligence Crisis 00:07:04 - Transformative AI and Interest Rates 00:21:05 - Optimal Monetary Policy Under Menu Costs 00:48:13 - Transformative AI and its Macro Implications 00:55:41 - Outro
People in this episode
Host: David Beckworth
Guest: Basil Halperin
Topics covered
- macroeconomic policy
- transformative AI
- interest rates
- emerging economies
- housing market
- menu-cost pricing
Keywords
- macroeconomics
- AI
- interest rates
- menu costs
- housing market
- Citrini essay
- George Selgin
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Virginia, Silicon Valley
Books & works: Less Than Zero, Citrini essay
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