Northwestern University’s Fed Challenge team will represent the Seventh Federal Reserve District for the sixth consecutive year at the national competition, to be held Dec. 1-2 in Washington, D.C.

The team, led by Senior Economics Lecturer Mark Witte, is composed of five undergraduate students who participate in macroeconomic theory competitions sponsored by the Federal Reserve.

Fed Challenge competitions require students to debate on a current economic issue, role-playing as members of the Fed.

The NU team won Monday’s regional competition, beating out 17 other Midwestern teams, with their presentation on quantitative easing. According to team member and McCormick senior Ravi Umarji, the team chose their concept because of its applicability in the ongoing unemployment versus inflation debate.

The mock debate began with a historical overview of the issue, followed by a discussion of the “immediate future” of unemployment and concluding with a vote on policy solutions by team members, Umarji said.

After the presentation, the judges, all senior economists at the Chicago Fed, conducted a 15-minute question-and-answer session with team members.

Umarji said his team was confident going into the competition and described his teammates as “econ dorks.” This year’s team was composed of all-new members. Leading up to regionals, Umarji said the team practiced four to five hours each day.

Last year’s Fed Challenge team won the regional competition and went on to place third at nationals, Umarji said. NU has won the national competition three times.

“We were definitely cognizant as a new team that we had a record to uphold,” Umarji said. “There was a lot of pressure, but we are very fortunate and have a balanced team. No one person dominates.”

– LAUREN KELLEHER