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The campus is invited to witness the final rehearsal for Lafayette’s first entry in the annual College Fed Challenge noon-1 p.m. today in the Simon Center auditorium. The academic competition provides an insider’s view of how the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System conducts monetary policy as student teams simulate a meeting of the committee.
In the event, Federal Reserve Bank economists and officers will evaluate the performance of Lafayette students and others from colleges in the region. To prepare, a team of students is conducting research, analyzing macroeconomic data in assessing the performance of the economy, and determining a specific course for monetary policy. The group will travel to Maryland, where a group of five will make a 20-minute presentation 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, at the Baltimore Branch of the Federal Reserve of Richmond. Judges will question students about their presentation and assess their knowledge of macroeconomic theory in a subsequent 15-minute question-and-answer session.
Those who will give the verbal presentation are economics and business majors Bill Bishop ’05 (Blue Bell, Pa.), Shree Sasikumar ’05 (Kerala, India), and Keith Helwig ’05 (Hinsdale, Ill.); Emily Fogelberg ’05 (Plymouth, Minn.), a double major in economics and business and history; and Ben Wilmoth ’05 (Marysville, Ohio), a double major in government & law and international affairs. Economics and business major Sam Schackman ’05 (Scotch Plains, N.J.) is serving as an alternate and will join the five in the question-and-answer session.
Other students on the team are economics and business major Nicole Paquet ’05 (Unionville, Conn.); Katherine Wolchik ’05 (Randolph, N.J.) and Magee Perini ’05 (Cornwall, Pa.), double majors in economics and business and mathematics; Veronica Hart ’05 (Sewanee, Tenn.), a double major in economics and business and Spanish; and Ing Chea Ang ’04 (Penang, Malaysia), a double major in mechanical engineering and mathematics-economics.
As part of the committee meeting simulation, these students will cast their ballot as to whether the federal funds interest rate should be raised, kept steady, or reduced.
“We’ve got a really great team,” says Vera Brusentsev, visiting assistant professor of economics and business, who is coaching the students along with James DeVault and Ed Gamber, associate professors of economics and business. “I think they’re as well prepared as any other teams I’ve seen in the past, including the Gettysberg team that won two years ago. In terms of presentation, I’d say they’re just as good.”
“We don’t know what questions will be asked and how the students will respond,” she admits, “but they’re very intelligent students, quick on their feet, and they know about institutional details, the economy, and the different factors that affect the economy. They’re very well versed in macroeconomics, and I’m sure they’ll do well.”
The competition is designed to give a better understanding of the operations of a central bank, the forces influencing U.S. and international economic conditions, and the subtleties of monetary policy. It also promotes research, presentation, and critical-thinking skills, as well as interest in economics.