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.