Students in Hamilton's Monetary Policy class traveled to the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Nov. 16 and competed in the semi-final round of the Fed Challenge in the morning, advancing to the final round in the afternoon. They were awarded an Honorable Mention for their performance overall and were recognized with a special award for "best teamwork" indicating that each team member made a meaningful contribution during the question and answer period of the competition.
The Fed Challenge is a competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Eastern Economic Association in which students prepare a presentation that provides an overview of the current economic situation, assesses risks, provides a forecast, and makes recommendations for future monetary policy.
The 15-minute presentation is followed by a 15-minute period of Q&A in which the team fields tough questions from Federal Reserve economists. The Hamilton team answered questions on a wide range of topics including nominal GDP targeting, interest on reserves, the housing market, and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
The students participated as part of a class project in their economics class, Monetary Policy, taught by Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics Ann Owen. The entire class participates with 5 students on the "Travel Team" who give the presentation and the rest of the class playing a supporting role in doing research and helping to prepare the team. The students on the travel team are seniors Dan Bartus, Thomas Cheeseman, Mallory Dawson, Matt Poterba and Chris Shi.
The Levitt Center provided financial support for the team.
