David Wessel
@davidmwessel
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Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Brookings. My latest book "Only the Rich Can Play," the story of Opportunity Zones.
Washington, D.C.
Joined April 2009
Surprised the tariff impact hasn’t been even larger? One reason: delays and exceptions mean the actual rate is only half the announced rate. This and more in a new working paper with @BrentNeiman. Read the paper here: https://t.co/a0I7PX0wEw, online appendix:
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Ed Glaeser & Samatha Silverberg explain just how screwed up the federal subsidy of muni transit system buses is...and how to fix it https://t.co/E4aMhF8sOT via @BrookingsInst two-minute video
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AEA job market update. The numbers don't lie, as this is the toughest market for PhD economists in recent memory. JOE listings are down 20% from last year. Worse: they are 19% below COVID levels. Let that sink in. The academic market took the biggest hit. Full-time US positions
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Why is the independence of the Fed so important to U.S. economic prosperity? We asked Ben Bernanke & Janet Yellen. A short @BrookingsInst video.
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Write this down so you remember what he said a decade from now.
HASSETT: "By the calendar year, we’re going to see a deficit reduction of about $600 billion. Multiply that by 10 and let there be a little growth, you’re looking at $7 or $8 trillion in deficit reduction over the decade because of the policies we’ve adopted this year."
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Give your immune system a Kung Fu Kick! We teamed up with Kung Fu Tea for the ultimate hybrid: HYDRATION+ Immunity. Packed with Vitamin C, D, and Zinc to fuel your fight and defend your daily health.
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Bessent: "These 2008, 2009, 2010 financial rules were too tight. They hamstrung the American financial system. It was time for a change. We're gonna be safe, smart, and sound in terms of our deregulation. But we have to take the financial system out of this straitjacket. This
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Brookings’ Hutchins Center forms task force on reducing impact of extreme weather on insurance costs and availability @BrookingsInst
https://t.co/ygDjUaX54M
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In a short video, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen explain why the independence of the Fed is so important to U.S. prosperity. https://t.co/Lp5fEo1ZjY via @BrookingsInst
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Have a child going through the selective college admissions process for the first time and the system seems designed specifically to maximize stress for student and parents alike. The process has gotten worse in recent years and will will keep getting worse until it breaks. 1/n
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On stablecoins: Leaving aside technological aspects, and focusing on the financial ones, what is the difference between well regulated stablecoins (i.e with transparent balance sheets and liquid assets on the asset side) and “narrow banks”? And if so, why should they not have
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Call for papers: The annual Municipal Finance Conference @BrookingsInst (July 2026). Looking for papers on the muni bond market and state and local fiscal and economic policy issues. https://t.co/BksvvQMYMM
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I have posted the slides for my undergrad intermediate macroeconomics class on my webpage: https://t.co/mXaqbN7RaJ Hopefully some will find these useful. 1/n
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Sorkin is especially good at giving interviewees room to breathe - really getting inside their thinking. Here's Newsom with arguably the most chilling two minutes, ending with a direct callout to a room full of wealth, power and influence on the markets and nation.
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🚨 NEW: OBR Chair Richard Hughes was reportedly "forced out" by Rachel Reeves after he contradicted her claims over the state of the UK's finances on Thursday Before that, the Treasury had been set to let Hughes survive the leak with only an apology [@kitty_donaldson]
🚨 BREAKING: Richard Hughes has resigned as the Chair of the OBR over the early Budget leak
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My advice to the Chancellor and the Treasury is that they refuse to accept this resignation. It is clearly honourable for Richard Hughes to offer it. But it is not in the public interest for him to stand aside.
Richard Hughes has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chair of the Treasury Select Committee to submit his resignation as Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility https://t.co/o8OAWPcEhV
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Update: this fellowship program is accepting applications for a third cohort! Deadline to apply is midnight on January 4, 2026. Details available here:
Can we improve how we identify and develop mathematical talent among youth? Thanks to @AgencyFund + @nberpubs, we are supporting five PhD fellows in this area: Ian Calaway, @Econ_Geoff, Salome Aguilar Llanes, Kartikeya Vira, + Iris Vrioni. https://t.co/1uFZiiGuGI
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A notable contrast with recent hawkish views from current and former Fed officials pushing for a December hold: Lael Brainard thinks the Fed should err on the side of preventing greater labor market weakness by cutting rates again next month “I would take the risk that perhaps
finance.yahoo.com
Inflation may be easing, but Lael Brainard warns the real test lies in preserving growth, jobs, and the Fed's independence.
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Getting to do this lecture -- which sought to provide a structural explanation for why urban public services in America struggle despite the high productivity of our private sector -- was such a thrill!
law.yale.edu
Professor David N. Schleicher delivered his inaugural lecture — “Broken Machines: Law and the Challenge of Making Big Cities Work — before an audience of friends, family, and members of the Yale...
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Ed Glaeser and Samantha Silverberg explain how screwed up the federal government's approach to subsidizing muni transit system's procurement of buses is -- and what to do about it. Short video. https://t.co/wD5jWT5Gre via @BrookingsInst
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