In 2010, the U.S. government projected that Americans would spend about $6 trillion dollars on health care, a little over 21% of GDP, in 2024. The actual amount spent was almost $1 trillion less. In fact, health care spending has been below projections almost every year since the early 2010s. In a new BPEA paper, "Has the U.S. bent the health care cost curve?" David Cutler and Lev Klarnet of Harvard University document this historic slowdown in spending, identify causes, and offer insight into whether this slowdown is a permanent adjustment to the trend. On this episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, the authors speak with Richard Frank, director of Brookings' Center on Health Policy, about their study.

Show notes and transcript

The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

China's real estate sector and infrastructure account for nearly one-third of economic demand in China. Plus, Chinese households allocate far more of their wealth to housing (nearly 70%) than households in other countries. So with the country's real estate sector entering its sixth year of adjustment, the implications for China and the rest of the world are growing. In a new BPEA paper, Kenneth Rogoff and Yuanchen Yang look for clues on what will happen next in another recent real estate crisis, that of 1990s Japan. On today's episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, Rogoff and Yang are interviewed about their findings by Brookings Senior Fellow Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti.

Show notes and transcript

The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, the Federal Reserve has amassed roughly $6.6 trillion in assets, primarily in the form of Treasury securities and government-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities. Some, including President Trump's nominee to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve Board, have suggested that the Fed should reduce the size of its balance sheet. On this episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, Darrell Duffie of Stanford University discusses how the central bank could achieve that goal and the pros and cons of ample reserves. Duffie is interviewed by David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy.

Show notes and transcript

The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.