Simulation of Federal Reserve Bank's Federal Open Market Committee will
include Saint Martin's College business students
Oct. 20, 2004
Lacey, Wash. – Should interest rates go up or remain the same? What effect is
a rate change likely to have on the economy and on markets worldwide. And what
other factors are at play that need to be considered?
Business students from five Northwest colleges and universities, including
Saint Martin’s College’s School of Business, will have a chance to walk in the
shoes of the Federal Board of Governors, making their recommendation for
economic direction during a simulation of a Federal Open Market Committee
meeting.
Sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to educate
undergraduate students about the functions of the Federal Reserve System, the
simulation will begin at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Greater Tacoma Convention and
Trade Center. The event, called “A Day in the Life of a Federal Reserve Bank
Policy Analyst,” is part of “Economics Beyond the Textbook and Classroom, a
two-day forum which runs through Nov. 19 at the center.
Saint Martin’s faculty member Riley Moore says students will be doing lots of
homework for the event. Each college’s team will work in either the role of a
current FED governor or a current FED bank president. Teams will research a
range of regional, national, international and other economic indicators, assess
the economy’s overall health and emerging risks and analyze economic forecast
information.
Come Nov. 18, one member from each team will be selected to act as the actual
governor or president and will issue his/her recommendations on monetary policy
and a federal funds interest rate target based upon the team’s research. Other
team members will act as either the governor’s research directors or the
president’s economic advisors.
During the simulation, Saint Martin’s will represent the west, taking on the
role Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president.
Washington State University will act as FED chairman
Alan Greenspan and prepare a monetary policy and
interest rate directive, as well. Afterward, Moore said,
the teams will be called upon to defend their position.
Students on the Saint Martin’s team are:
- Tony Rapaglia, sophomore, business administration
major from Olympia.
- Toni Christy, MBA student, Lacey.
- Ingrid Anders, senior, business administration major
from Guatemala.
- Andrew Albertson, sophomore, business administration
major from Olympia.
- Deneise Williams, sophomore, business administration
major from Olympia.
- Chrisa FitzGerald, junior, accounting major from
Lacey.
Other colleges and universities taking part in the simulation are Idaho’s
Boise State University, Washington State University, the University of
Washington, Tacoma, and the University of Puget Sound.
For more information on the simulation or the two-day forum, please contact
Moore. Information on the simulation also is available on the Federal Reserve
Bank of San Francisco’s University Symposium webpage,
www.frbsf.org/education/teachers/index.html.
For more information:
Riley Moore
Assistant professor, economics and finance
360-438-4511; rmoore@stmartin.edu
Deanna Partlow
Office of Communication
360-438-4541;
dpartlow@stmartin.edu