The 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, 107 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 Harvard University (first place), Princeton University (second place), Columbia University, University of Chicago, and University of North Carolina Wilmington. The UCLA’s team was composed of Yohann Byun, Vivian Fan, Ryan Gonda, Laura Lu, and Sophie Simcox, with Casper Hsu, Carly King, and Jordan Lee serving as alternates and research support. Professor Chris Surro and graduate student Ali Haider Ismail advised the team. Our students registered for Econ 187 (The Fed Challenge) as part of their preparation for the Challenge. You can read more about the Fed Challenge here.