tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11 2010-03-10T22:31:15Z Movable Type 3.35 tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11.408 2010-03-05T22:43:09Z 2010-03-10T22:31:15Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig In the process of cleaning my desk, I found a really interesting article (amazing what cleaning will do) that introduced me to the Intel Teach website. It offers teachers on-line training on how to incorporate project-based technology...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Intel Teach website. It offers teachers on-line training on how to incorporate project-based technology into their classrooms. I think it could help a lot of teachers who are currently feeling like they are forcing in technology so that they can mentally check that box, but are really not using it to its fullest potential. As you may or may not know, the Chicago Fed sponsors a project-based, academic competition called the Fed Challenge, that emphasizes teamwork, presentation skills, fundamental economic theories, and a deep knowledge of macroeconomic data. This last piece of the program has really changed a lot in the last decade. Now, not only can students get data, but they can manipulate data quickly, get expert opinions on the data, and even ask questions of experts via email and get the answers in time for their presentations! Many may argue that students don't have to do as much now, but quite frankly, it seems to me they have to do more -- as there are many more avenues for their fellow competitors to get an edge. Information moves faster and hence more is expected. As a teacher, this is exciting because in some ways independent and critical thinking have more opportunity to be exercised in this type of environment. The trick is how to incorporate this fast-paced technology into the classroom when we are sometimes not as comfortable with it. Here is where Intel Teach comes in. Intel has dedicated a significant amount of resources in the education field and this is a perfect fit for them. I usually write blogs on economic topics and/or economic education opportunities, but this is one that I think could really help bring to life one thing that economics has going for it in the classroom -- real data on real life events. The way I see it (or what I hope) is that technology will allow us to breathe life into a highly theoretical subject that just may spark some interest in students. That is pretty exciting! If anyone has any information on this particular program, please post below. In addition, if anyone does project-based economic projects in their classroom, I am sure we would all like to read about it.... please consider sharing ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11.406 2010-02-19T22:58:22Z 2010-02-23T00:10:13Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig I have just completed a series of workshops with teachers and students in which we dedicated part of the sessions to a "Hot Topic" debate. We read articles on issues such as inflation, too big to fail,...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org inflation, too big to fail, the fed's independence, asset bubbles, etc. The goals of the exercise were to summarize the point of view of the article and then think about what the strongest opposing viewpoint would be. The exercise proved worthwhile as students struggled and thought about, for example, who would be in favor of asset bubbles and how knowing that can strengthen their own argument. I recently listened to an interview Steve Forbes conducted with an economic forecaster, Brian Wesbury of First Trust Advisors. Wesbury basically argued that our economic recovery began with the relaxing of "mark-to-market" rules and not any type of stimulus or bank rescue. It is an interesting argument; however, I thought about my assignment to my students and then set out to find some opposing views. And I found one that happened to be from someone at the Boston Fed, where he argues that the "mark-to-market" rule was a small part of the problem banks had at the start of the crisis. Take a look below and let me know what you think. Regardless of where you fall on an issue, your argument can be strengthened by keeping in mind the strongest opposing view. Good luck to my Fed Challenge teams. Steve Forbes's interview with Wesbury Excerpt of Sanders paper from Boston Fed on Bnet]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11.403 2010-02-09T20:56:07Z 2010-02-09T22:27:13Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig We are currently involved in two experiential programs for high school students called Euro Challenge and Fed Challenge. Both programs are academic competitions in which students do a good deal of independent work prior to coming to...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Euro Challenge and Fed Challenge. Both programs are academic competitions in which students do a good deal of independent work prior to coming to the Fed to present their analysis to seasoned economists. The programs are designed to be driven by current data and events. Students walk away learning a lot about some of the pressing economic issues of our day and --sometimes even without realizing it-- a lot about monetary policy. This year many students have asked whether or not they need to be concerned about global economic events if they are competing in the Fed Challenge and my answer is yes! However, it is not always easy to find Fed-specific information on global economic issues, so I set out to find some material that I thought would be helpful. Please find a list below of some current resources that will hopefully provide a slightly different look at the Fed and monetary policy in a globalized world: * San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen on China's currency and global recovery; click here * New York Fed's Linda Goldberg discusses whether or not the role of the US dollar is changing in a recent article; click here * Minneapolis Fed's Arthur Rolnick Fed discusses the changes at the Fed as a result of more globalization; click here * The Economist on what would happen if a Euro area country could not finance its debt; click here * ECB past conference papers site (great resource when you have time to peruse); click here * International Research Forum on Monetary Policy going on in DC at the end of March. Sponsored by both the Federal Reserve Board and the European Central Bank -- link * Some quick global economic indicators courtesy of the NY Fed; click here Please share your thoughts and recommendations for current resources below. ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11.402 2010-01-29T20:54:40Z 2010-01-29T23:11:48Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig If you live in the US and are interested in banking issues, this week was jam-packed. We had a highly anticipated State of the Union speech and a new Federal Open Market Committee statement. It was pretty...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF is an organization dedicated to global cooperation and collaboration aimed at solving some of the world's largest economic and social challenges. It is best known for its annual meeting of world leaders in Davos. The articles and speeches that have come out of this year's meeting on the issue of banking regulation were for the most part insightful and framed arguments slightly differently than we may be used to reading. The head of the IMF, Mr. Strauss-Kahn, affirmed some policy ideas that have come out of the US and UK governments, but warned that if rules are not developed internationally, banking and financial organizations could simply move to places with the least regulation. France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, called for a financial market transaction tax on banks and went on to point out that diverse accounting rules have helped to protect the status quo. He stated, "If competition is distorted by accounting rules that remain different from one country to another, from one continent to another, market actors will find it hard not to return to precrisis habits." Although some of the conversation such as the different types of taxes that can be levied on banks is similar to discussions that are going on in our papers, the conference speakers seem to have a broader perspective regarding proposed accounting and regulation reform. It left me wondering what would be most effective -- developing reguation domestically first and then working with the international community to harmonize or just focusing on working with the international community from the beginning to ensure standardization. The latter of which may take some additional time. Let me know what you and/or your class think about the Davos material.... Here are some links to some of the material that I mentioned here as well a link to the Davos Diary from the International Herald Tribune: Davos Diary IMf Chief Urges Coordinated Finance Rules At Davos, Sarkozy calls for Global Finance Rules ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11.400 2010-01-20T21:53:00Z 2010-01-22T22:34:44Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig John Cassidy from the New Yorker magazine interviewed a number of well-known economists and asked them what they thought about the beleaguered state of the "Chicago" school of economic thought in light of the crisis. In a...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Posner Interview and more (Thaler, Rajan, Murphy, Heckman, Becker, Cochrane, and Fama), click here. Cassidy also wrote an accompanying piece called, "After the Blowup." What do you think? Any "Chicago"-ites still standing?]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2010://11.399 2010-01-08T22:55:05Z 2010-01-08T23:06:06Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig Well, if the answer is yes, here it is -- Economics Rap. PBS put together a fantastic segment that compares the economic philosophies of Keynes and Hayek. It is less than 10 minutes long and is accompanied...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Economics Rap. PBS put together a fantastic segment that compares the economic philosophies of Keynes and Hayek. It is less than 10 minutes long and is accompanied by a short lesson plan and some discussion ideas. It may elicit some giggling, but it is good stuff and not to mention I bet the students will remember the subject matter for a long time. As always, PBS has done a great job. Let me know what you think.... ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.397 2009-12-31T16:00:53Z 2009-12-31T18:02:32Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig 2010 is quickly approaching and your favorite financial resolution is probably back on the table. It is most likely some form of: I will spend less on frivolous coffee or I will make a budget and save...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org article today about 6 things we can all do -- regardless of age -- to help make the best financial decisions. It was pretty hum drum in terms of advice but it hit on a few new "apps" available on the iphone that are designed to track daily expenses. I know that there have been small notebooks and pencils around for this same purpose for hundreds of years, but something about these "apps" made me think that this could work. You see, there is no need for a grand budget right away (as I tell myself), but perhaps just tracking spending alone would help with the honesty bit. And perhaps this is the time to look into this tech option as we are all attached to our darn phones all day anyway -- how hard could this be? My new New Year's resolution: figure out easiest way to track daily expenses and see if it changes my cost/benefit analysis. Some of the application suggestions and my unqualified first impression: Every Nickel: Seems super easy -- just tracks daily expenditures iexpenseIt: Seems pretty easy as well; allows you to incorporate a bit of budgeting if you so choose Splash Money: Something for those that are more adventurous and want to connect to their bank accounts (also available for blackberry) Let me know what you think.... (and if you have ever used anything similar in a classroom setting, I would love to hear about it). Happy New Year and Good Luck! ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.396 2009-12-22T21:19:49Z 2009-12-22T21:28:25Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig The theory of “second best” basically states that if one condition cannot be met in a model, meeting the remaining conditions may not necessarily give you the next most efficient outcome. In other words, one condition not...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Here is a more precise definition for those interested. I recently read an article about the Fed by Paul McCulley entitled, “Because I said so….” I didn’t necessarily agree with all his arguments, but he did make me think differently about the subject matter and how it could be used effectively to teach macroeconomics. McCulley paraphrases a Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Charles Bean, who says that in the absence of a powerful global macro-prudential regulatory regime, central bankers will have to seriously consider the “second best” option of incorporating asset prices more explicitly into their Taylor-like rules –if that is what is necessary to enhance prospects for systemic stability. Many economists believe monetary policy decision-making does not need to take into account asset prices because aggregate demand data will essentially point in the same direction policy-wise. Because of that, they conclude, there are not many benefits and, in fact, many potential pitfalls in trying to incorporate asset prices and more specifically asset bubbles (which are notoriously hard to predict) into decision-making models. However, here we are at the end of 2009 and the question of asset bubbles haunts central bankers and economists all over the world. Did the well accepted central banking “condition” or assumption fail in terms of asset prices reflecting aggregate demand data? If, as McCulley states, the Fed’s “reaction function” is flawed in this way, what is the “second best” option? Perhaps questions like -- what will be the likely outcome if asset prices are not incorporated into decision-making processes in the future and what other options are available to central banks to deal with this issue -- need to be answered before accepting the simple explanation that there isn’t a good theoretical way to incorporate asset prices into existing monetary policy thinking. Regardless of your opinion on McCulley’s article, learning how to think about what is “second best” is important. The article reminds us that “second best” thinking divorces the perfect from the near perfect. They are not always just one tweak away from one another. In fact, they can be somewhat distant from one another. I think what Governor Bean is saying is that you may actually have to distort something else to deal with existing issues in the next best way. I think a really interesting assignment would be to ask students to find examples of “second best” decisions being made. What markets and/or policies illustrate how further distortion was necessary in order to get a “second best” solution? What were the other alternatives? Please share your thoughts on either the article or an assignment idea.... ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.395 2009-12-11T19:08:13Z 2009-12-11T19:46:05Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig Ever thought about putting a supply and demand graph on the front of your Christmas card -- check this one out on the Economix blog -- click here. Pretty funny, huh? More seriously though, I think that...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Economix blog -- click here. Pretty funny, huh? More seriously though, I think that Reinhardt's conceptual idea is interesting. Does compassion adhere to supply and demand theorems? The author, in a playful way, asks the reader to think about whether or not Europeans are more compassionate than Americans -- or is it just that Europeans can afford to be more compassionate? It is an interesting context for the theory of supply and demand especially given our current conversation about health insurance reform. If our equilibrium price is too high for kind acts, then maybe we should all revisit our intro textbooks and look at what factors would increase supply and in turn lower the equilibrium price and increase the quantity of kind acts towards the poor. Hmmm.... What other difficult societal issues can be looked at through the lens of supply and demand? For my readers that are educators, maybe this would be a really interesting assignment.... What do you all think? ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.394 2009-11-27T17:11:08Z 2009-11-27T12:17:34Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig The Fed is getting ready to run an ad in movie theaters across the country this holiday season. The ad will be directed at credit card usage. It will basically interrupt your buttery popcorn crunch to remind...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org ad in movie theaters across the country this holiday season. The ad will be directed at credit card usage. It will basically interrupt your buttery popcorn crunch to remind you to pay your bills on time, stay below the limit and watch for changes in terms. Although it is probably helpful to remind folks about the basics of credit -- I think for those of you that work in education, this type of "education" intervention is akin to getting a flyer tucked under your windshield wiper. For some, it may be a good reminder, but for most, it will do nothing. However, immediately below this non-educator worthy story today in my inbox was a resource that could do a lot of good for many -- especially many parents of school-aged children. It is a website put out by Charles Schwab called Schwab Money Wise. Many private companies have put forth various Money - Smart - Wise – Savvy websites and I have by no means visited them all to compare, but this site is well done and includes activities for parents of all age/grade levels. There are some simple saving and budgeting exercises that are well done (and downloadable) as well as a few ideas on investing activities a parent can do with a child. In addition, the site has resources specifically designed for the classroom under, "Teachers & Volunteers," although I think some of parent activities can work in a classroom as well! At any rate, thought I would share this resource, because it incorporates some news, some basic tools for financial planning, some good data, and probably most interestingly -- some good ways for parents/teachers to motivate children to engage in this life skill. Let me know what you think. Anything interesting in your inbox? ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.393 2009-11-12T16:45:25Z 2009-11-13T17:11:03Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig I have been subscribing to a website for the last few months called, FinReg21. It is billed as a non-partisan, on-line media tool for those interested in financial services regulatory reform. The editor is David Evans, and...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org FinReg21. It is billed as a non-partisan, on-line media tool for those interested in financial services regulatory reform. The editor is David Evans, and the site offers a mixture of original stories and a compilation of on-line blogs and speeches, as well as a webcast portal called Channel 21 that carries interviews with industry leaders. For those of you involved in banking and/or teaching an advanced banking and finance class, this is a great resource, as it gives some fresh perspectives on the "industry" -- encompassing everything from broker-dealers to national banks to insurance companies. The interconnectedness of the industry comes through as you listen to the respective experts discuss not only what is being batted around legislatively but also what the last decade looked like in their respective sectors. This morning I watched most of a webcast-interview with Leigh Ann Pusey, CEO of the American Insurance Association (interviewer: David Evans). She did a good job of explaining the state versus federal structure of insurance regulation and how that differs from other financial sectors. I also read an interesting article that criticized a recent speech by Comptroller Dugan. I thought it provided a unique look at regulators' incentives. At any rate, I hope you find the site useful. Over the past few weeks, there have been contributions by Dan Kaufman of the Brookings Institution and Stanford University's John Taylor. Let me know what you think and if you have found any new resources you would like to share.... ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.392 2009-11-06T20:57:08Z 2009-11-06T22:54:31Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig I read an interesting article today from Andrew Reamer of the Brookings Institution about the value of economic statistics. They are something that you become so accustomed to working with when you are either a teacher or...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org article today from Andrew Reamer of the Brookings Institution about the value of economic statistics. They are something that you become so accustomed to working with when you are either a teacher or student of economics. For example, there are dozens of ways to look at GDP, Unemployment, CPI, etc. As an instructor, I have given assignments such as -- go and look up the "jobs report" and figure out who publishes the data, how is it compiled, and what are its shortcomings. However, I have never really thought of the statistics themselves as public goods. To some extent, these data sets make the analytical world go round and yet we rely on tax-payer monies to compile them. The article does an interesting job of providing examples of projects that were cut when the budgets were cut and how our statistics have suffered. (Who has ever thought of what the return on investment is for these statistical organizations?) At any rate, I thought the article was both food for thought for those that regularly use these statistics and an interesting example of a public good. The article also forced me to ask whether or not enough economic data is in the public domain; what do you think? ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.391 2009-10-30T20:59:19Z 2009-10-30T22:13:01Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig I have come across two resources today that I thought were worth sharing. They are interesting just from a personal enrichment standpoint, but I think that they could also provide good fodder for educators searching for new...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Cleveland Fed that explains what their Median Consumer Price Index (CPI) is and how it differs from the Bureau of Labor's CPI indicator. The video shows a series of sketches designed to visually present the concepts that underlie the Median CPI. Besides being an interesting way to learn about the Median CPI, this could also serve as a springboard for a class assignment or a contest. You can show it to your class (or find a similar lesson on YouTube that is slightly easier if it is a younger class) and ask groups to create a 5 minute YouTube video explaining an economic concept. This type of YouTube contest could be a lot of fun! You can even ask folks from the community to judge the videos. There are endless directions that you could go with this assignment. The second resource is Economix's Econoquiz. It is a weekly quiz of economic information spanning historical to current events. It seems that they post it on Friday morning and provide the answers that same night. It is a lot of fun as well and would be a great assignment for advanced economics students. Heck, it is a lot of fun for most of us; you may want to bookmark it here. Please feel free to post any on-line assignment ideas you have come across and I will begin to highlight some resources from past blogs and commentaries on the site in a more permanent fashion. Happy Halloween! ]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.390 2009-10-23T21:20:09Z 2009-10-23T22:25:20Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig In my last blog posting, Women in Economics, I shared the news that a woman, Elinor Ostrom, had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for the very first time. Her work focused on pooled ownership structures...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org Women in Economics, I shared the news that a woman, Elinor Ostrom, had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for the very first time. Her work focused on pooled ownership structures as an alternative to private or public ownership structures. Her work was not about testing out mathematical models with empirical data, but rather an attempt to understand complex group behavior and its outcome on certain public goods. In my last posting, I shared my concern that her award may be downplayed by the mathematicians that have come to define modern-day economics. And sure enough, this has happened. Although perhaps what I didn't foresee was what I would learn from the discussion that has ensued. In some ways, the award has economists questioning the very scope of modern-day economics. Read Nancy Folbre's Economix entry, The Economics Club -- where she discusses how this award has expanded boundaries not only from a gender perspective, but also just as importantly from the academic discipline's perspective. Added bonuses of Folbre's piece include links to AEA's Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession and the International Association for Feminist Economics. What are your thoughts about economics as a social science -- have we lost the social part of the science? It is one thing to argue rationality, but quite another to assume that it all can be modeled on your computer.]]> tag:marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org,2009://11.388 2009-10-16T15:29:25Z 2009-10-16T15:33:25Z

By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig As many of you may have noticed, there are not many prominent women in the field of economics. That changed this past weekend as the folks in Oslo awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics to an American...

CIndy Ivanac-Lillig marginalthoughts.chicagofedblogs.org A Nobel for Practical Economics, detailing her work. The only thing that I am a bit leary about is that this award is being touted as the first given for work that was done studying human behavior versus mathematical models. Don’t get me wrong -- I do actually think that this is a good thing. I know some of you might shudder, but human group behavior is extremely difficult to model. Peer pressure, mutually reinforcing incentives, social capital, etc. are very difficult to model and yet necessary in analyzing how these ownership structures work. I just hope Ostrom’s work will not be discounted by the computer-modeled economist of our day. I think the two groups – number crunchers and social scientists -- could probably do some great things by working together in the future. Let me also say that I am confident that there are women attached to their statistical analysis software that will win this award in the future as well. Congrats to Ms. Ostrom and Mr. Williamson, with whom she shares this prestigious honor. One of her most notable works, Governing the Commons, can be previewed here. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. ]]>