UCLA’s team took third place in the annual Fed Challenge, a national competition that asks teams of undergraduate students to analyze the economy and present a monetary policy recommendation to judges from the Federal Reserve. This year, 139 schools took part in the competition, with 3 teams from each of the six regions chosen to advance to the semifinal Q&A round, and 6 finalists selected as the winners of each region. The other finalists were Pace University (first place), Harvard University (second place), University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, and Davidson College. UCLA’s team was composed of Blake Balak, Terrence Yu, Jiya Barman, Valentina Alencar Barros, and Loretta Lye. Professor Chris Surro and graduate student Ali Haider Ismail advised the team. Our students registered for Econ 162 (Monetary Policy) as part of their preparation for the Challenge. You can find the press release from the Fed here.

Research on the first federally-funded family-planning programs by UCLA Professor Martha Bailey was featured in CBS News. The CBS News article can be found here.

UCLA Economics Alumnus, Terry Kramer ’82, and member of the Economics Department Board of Visitors is the subject of the most recent “Alumnus Spotlight.”   Terry was also the guest of honor and delivered the Commencement Address to our Economics class of 2025.

Read the full story here.