News Release
Northwestern University Wins Regional Federal Reserve Competition
CHICAGO — A team from Northwestern University Monday won the regional Fed Challenge competition that tests students' knowledge of how the Federal Reserve fosters a strong and stable economy.
The five-person team will now travel to Washington, D.C. December 3 to take part in the national Fed Challenge finals at the Federal Reserve Board.
To reach the finals, Northwestern University on November 10 beat 23 colleges and universities from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin in a competition held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The Fed Challenge promotes student understanding of how the U.S. economy functions and the role of the Federal Reserve in fostering sustainable economic growth. During the competition, each team spends 30 minutes analyzing current economic data, develops a monetary policy recommendation, and answers judges' questions.
The presentations include a discussion of economic conditions on the day of the competition; a forecast of near-term changes in economic, financial and international conditions, such as unemployment and inflation; identification of conditions or situations that warrant attention in the formulation of monetary policy; and a recommendation as to whether the Fed should move to raise or lower interest rates.
Northwestern University will represent the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in the national championship. The team will compete against other regional winners representing Federal Reserve Banks in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Dallas. Judges at the final competition will include members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and presidents of regional Federal Reserve Banks.
The team members from Northwestern University are Chad Frontz, Matthew Dabrowski, Joshua Goldstein, Alexandru Rus, and Atanas Stoyanov. Their advisor is Mark Witte.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Background
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and all of Iowa. In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government, and monitors economic conditions in its District.