Take a Seat at the Table: FOMC Simulation

In this lesson, students are given the opportunity to play the role of a Federal Reserve Bank president in two aspects of a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting: the policy discussion and federal funds target rate recommendation. Students will see how the FOMC uses the anecdotal information contained in the Beige Book to inform policy decisions. They will read and evaluate the anecdotal information contained in the Beige Book, then conduct a policy discussion and write a press release explaining their assessment of economic conditions and the policy action agreed upon during the simulation.