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Kristin School Wins Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Challenge

Kristin School wins Monetary Policy Challenge

6 July 2017 - Kristin School (Auckland) has been named the national winner of the 2017 Reserve Bank of New Zealand Monetary Policy Challenge. Macleans College (Auckland) placed second and Saint Patrick’s College (Kilbirnie, Wellington) came third.

The Monetary Policy Challenge (MPC) expands secondary school economics students' understanding of monetary policy. The competition has been running for 16 years and links to NCEA achievement standards. Just like economists working in the Reserve Bank, each team had to analyse the economic conditions facing New Zealand and consider the outlook for inflation in order to then decide on an appropriate setting for the Official Cash Rate (the interest rate set by the Reserve Bank to meet its inflation target).

Fifty two teams from around New Zealand participated in this year’s MPC, presenting their Official Cash Rate decisions via videoconference last month. The top six teams were then selected to present in person at the national finals in Wellington.

The national final took place at the Reserve Bank yesterday, and was judged by Assistant Governor and Chief Economist John McDermott, and Reserve Bank economists Amber Watson and Amy Rice.

“The Kristin School team showed a sound understanding of factors relevant to monetary policy. They answered tough questions with confidence and clarity and operated well as a team,” Dr McDermott said. A team from Kristin School also won the MPC in 2010.

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Kristin School won $2500 in prize money for their school, and each team member also won a $500 cash prize. The winning team will be invited back to the Reserve Bank in Wellington to watch the 10 AugustMonetary Policy Statement media conference with Governor Graeme Wheeler, meet with senior decision-makers, and see first-hand how economic theory is put into practice.

The team from Macleans College won $1500 and the team from Saint Patrick’s College won $750 in prize money for their respective schools. The other national finalists were James Hargest College (Invercargill), Auckland International College, and Takapuna Grammar School (Auckland).

"The six teams in the final had clearly done a lot of preparation for their presentations,” Dr McDermott said. “It was also great to see the contributions that many teachers made to guide and inspire their students.”

The MPC is open to all New Zealand secondary school senior economics students and runs annually from May to July.


ENDS

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