A Day at the Fed
by Ivo Ivanov Gyurovski '09
 On Wednesday, March 21, 2007, Dr. Saranna R. Thornton
(right), Elliott Professor of
Economics, took six of her students on a field
trip in Richmond, VA, to visit the Federal Reserve Bank.
The Federal Reserve System, also called simply the Fed, is the central bank of the United States. As such, the Fed has three
essential and very important responsibilities that have an affect not only in the United States but also the worldwide economic
climate. First,
the Fed is responsible for conducting monetary policy. Second, the central bank supervises and regulates financial markets
and last, but not least, it provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government. The Fed has 12 districts – Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia,
Richmond, San Francisco, and St. Louis. The Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond serves the 5th district, and its administration
sponsored an event called “A Day at the Fed,” to which several professors of economics from institutions in the 5th district
were invited to come and to bring students with them.
 The program started with a welcome from Steve Malone, the Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs. After this short
introductory session, the attendees, mainly composed of economics faculty and students engaged in an interactive session
with John Walter, Senior Economist and Research Advisor at the Bank. Mr. Walter talked about the most important tool for
monetary policy, interest rates, and how fluctuation in the rates can influence the country’s economic conditions. Next, Ms. Nicole S. Holt, from the Human Resources Department, discussed opportunities for students
interested in working for the Fed. She mentioned summer as well as semester-long internships, and gave us valuable information
about preparing a good resume and what is important for one to do know in order to increase his or her chances of
getting hired. Also, Ms. Holt discussed education benefits offered by the Fed, which sponsor workers to obtain graduate
and postgraduate degrees, provided that certain grade requirements are met.
Mr. Ray Owens, Vice President and Senior Economist, provided our next economic briefing, focusing on how the Fed gathers
and interprets regional economic data. He emphasized how important it is for the ruling body of the bank to have valuable
economic data from all the twelve districts throughout the country in order to make the most beneficial decisions when
instituting its monetary policy. After luncheon with many of the economists attending, the students and faculty had an
opportunity to listen to a lecture on assessing macroeconomic conditions, delivered by Senior Economist and Research Advisor,
Roy Webb. He gave a detailed presentation, accompanied by multiple graphs on the U.S. economy’s vital statistics and how they
should be interpreted across periods of time.
Immediately after Mr. Webb's presentation, we heard from Mr. John Weinberg, who is the Director of Research. This discussion examined and analyzed the function of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and its
decision-making processes. The FOMC meets eight times a year in order to
set the federal funds rate. That Wednesday happened to be one of the eight
days in the year when at 2:15 PM the rate is announced. Usually the value of the federal funds
rate is accompanied by an announcement with very specific but not easily comprehensible text which explains the decision
of FOMC and probable future trends and inclinations. Mr. Weinberg analyzed every single sentence of the text for the
audience, providing the students with an invaluable economic lesson.
At the end of the day, the students and professors could individually focus on particular research department areas of
interest in breakout sessions with personnel from the bank. Four departments were introduced: Publications,
Banking Policy, Macroeconomic Research, and Regional Economics.
March 2007
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