Every year since 1995, there has been a “Fed Challenge.” This is a contest sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board and Citibank. More than 200 high school students throughout the country participate. Each school has a five-member team. Each team recommends whether the Fed ought to raise interest rates, lower them, or leave them unchanged.

The vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board and two colleagues judge the national finalists at the beginning of May of each year. The finalists give presentations of their models reflecting what they think should happen at meetings of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC). The winning team members each get a $5,000 scholarship, their teacher gets a $5,000 achievement award, and their school receives a $10,000 grant to establish an “economics laboratory.”

What criteria do you think the judges should use to determine which team has presented the best monetary policy recommendations?