The purpose of this article is to provide guidance for instructors who wish to develop a course associated with student participation in the College Fed Challenge (CFC), an academic competition designed to test students' knowledge of current economic events and monetary policy. We eschew a lecture-only methodology and use small-group and…

This article attempts to make some sense of what is happening to the role of money and the economy in our lives and in our communities. It shows that the picture provided by the discipline of economics makes no sense at all. Corporations and national economies have become wealth extractors as opposed to wealth creators. Only about 3% of daily…

Presents a teaching model that is consistent with the traditional approach to demonstrating the expansion and contraction of the money supply. Suggests that the model provides a simple and convenient visual image of changes in the monetary system. Describes the model as juxtaposing the behavior of the moneyholding public with that of the…

Economists and historians have struggled for almost 80 years to account for the American Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted until the early years of World War II. In this article, the authors discuss three major schools of thought on the causes of the Great Depression and the long failure of the American economy to return to full…

Provides a graphical framework for presenting interactions among current account flows, capital account flows, and exchange rates. Suggests that the two type of flows must be considered separately in discussions of foreign exchange equilibrium and balance of payments flows. Supplies sample graphs and instructions for applying the framework to real…

Describes graphical techniques to help explain the multiple creation of deposits that accompany lending in a fractional reserve banking system. Presents a model that emphasizes the banking system, the interaction of total permitted, required, and excess reserves and deposits. Argues that the approach simplifies information to examining a slope…

Offers instructors a presentation of the IS (investment saving)-LM (liquidity preference-money supply) model, suggesting that a number of benefits emerge if the instructor focuses on what determines the size of both the horizontal and vertical distances between the IS curves and between the LM curves. (CMK)

This is one of a series of essays adapted from articles in "On Reserve," a newsletter for economic educators published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. This pamphlet explains how public debt incurred by the federal government may not be necessarily bad from an economic perspective. The sections of the pamphlet include: (1)…

Asserts that many macroeconomics textbooks include arguments about national fiscal policy that may not be relevant nor accurate. Concludes that counter cyclical fiscal policy restricted to changes in income taxes and transfer payments are weak tools in efforts to pull a nation out of recession. (CFR)

Explains the use of forwards, futures, swaps, and options in international currency trading. Argues that pricing options are based on the same basic principles as pricing other financial instruments. Concludes that, although financial markets have developed several new products, hedging and speculation involve similar processes. (CFR)

Maintains that, although U.S. currency today is pure fiat money and not backed by gold or any other precious metal, students frequently ask, "But what about the gold at Fort Knox?" Describes what is really located at Fort Knox, why it is there, its implications for public policy. (CFR)

This pamphlet recaps the chain of events known as The Bank Panic of 1907. Historians view this as a watershed event that had a lasting impact on the financial system of the United States. The panic resulted from the collapse of the United Copper Company and was averted with the intervention of John D. Rockefeller and the J. P. Morgan Company. The…

A computer game involving macroeconomic stabilization policy for use with college level students is described. Students are asked to take the part of government in manipulating tax rates, expenditures, and monetary policy in an attempt to influence employment and inflation in an open economy. (Author/RM)

Discusses real business cycle analysis, growth theory, and other economic concepts in the context of the rational expectations revolution in macroeconomics. Focuses on post-1982 research. Concludes that the rejuvenation of growth analysis is an encouraging development because it could lead to changes in welfare policy. (CFR)

This booklet examines the political events of the year 1912 in which the idea of the Federal Reserve System came into reality. Excerpts from reminiscences, letters and newspapers of the time give an inside look at the divergent forces and personalities that were brought together to form the central banking system of the United States. Sections of…