Eric Leeper, Professor of Economics at Indiana University, visited New Zealand in October and November 2008 as part of the Professorial Fellowship in Monetary and Financial Economics sponsored by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Victoria University of Wellington.1 Professor Leeper is also a director of the Centre for Applied Economics and Policy Research at Indiana University, a Research Associate at the US National Bureau of Economic Research, and an External Advisor to the Sveriges Riksbank (the Swedish central bank), and has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Board. His extensive publications and expertise cover monetary theory and policy, and interactions between monetary and fiscal policy. In this interview, he talks about how fiscal policy could be improved, the roles of fiscal and monetary policy in stabilising the economy, and some current challenges for fiscal and monetary policy-makers.