In the Second District College Fed Challenge--a competition held November 10 at the New York Federal Reserve Bank--a Boston College team of five undergraduates: Mark Irvine, Matt List, Barry Mills, Greg Wiles, and Anna Zervou won third place and a monetary prize. The BC squad advanced to the final round of four, bettering teams from 17 other universities, including Barnard-Columbia, NYU Stern School, and Cornell. The second district competition was won by a team from Rutgers University. The BC Fed Challenge team was advised by Assistant Prof. Fabio Ghironi and Associate Professor Robert Murphy.

The College Fed Challenge is intended to help students become more knowledgeable about the Fed and the decision-making process of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy-setting group. It is intended to promote greater understanding of the Federal Reserve's role in developing and implementing monetary policy; greater interest in economics and finance as a subject for advanced study and as the basis for a career; research, presentation, critical thinking, and cooperation skills; and a closer relationship between colleges and the Federal Reserve System.

Teams consist of three to five undergraduates from the same college or university. A team's participation involves two parts: a 20-minute presentation and a 15-minute Q&A session led by a panel of judges (usually economics professionals, college faculty and/or Fed officials). Presentations include a discussion of current economic and financial conditions; a near-term forecast of economic and financial conditions that affect monetary policy; identification of risks that threaten the economic well-being of the country; and a recommendation as to the action the Fed should take with regard to short-term interest rates. During the Q&A session, judges may ask questions about arguments made or data addressed in the team's presentation; how policy-makers might respond to hypothetical economic scenarios; and the Fed's monetary policy-making and implementation process.