Hamilton students advanced to the semifinals in the Fed Challenge after competing in the preliminary round on Nov. 3 at the New York Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan.
The Fed Challenge is a team competition for undergraduate college students inspired by the working of the Federal Open Market Committee. Teams of five students deliver a 15-minute presentation that discusses the current state of the economy, forecasts future economic conditions and makes a policy recommendation based on the analysis. Following each presentation, judges, who are economists at the Federal Reserve, pose questions to each team. The competition is intended to encourage students to learn more about the U.S. macro economy, the Federal Reserve and the implementation of monetary policy and financial stability.
Hamilton students competed as part of Professor of Economics Ann Owen’s Monetary Policy class. The entire class participated in preparing the presentation and in helping the team practice answering questions. Other economics professors also helped by visiting practices and asking questions from a variety of perspectives so that the team became adept at fielding a wide range of questions. This year, College trustees Rich Bernstein ’80 and David Solomon ’84 also participated in a practice session, helping the students prepare for the competition by challenging them to defend their position.
The semifinal round will be held at the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Nov. 18.
