A record number of entries to the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Challenge resulted in tough competition with six schools selected for the national final.

The annual competition attracted entries from 53 secondary schools from across New Zealand to step into the shoes of a Reserve Bank economist.

Four Auckland schools – Macleans College, Takapuna Grammar, Kristin School and Auckland International College were named as finalists, along with James Hargest College, Invercargill and St Patrick's College (Kilbirnie), Wellington. Kristin School is the only school from the 2017 finalists to have previously won the title.

The competition is designed to increase students’ understanding of monetary policy by working as a team to assess economic conditions and make a prediction for the Official Cash Rate (OCR) decision. The competition is open to Year 12 and 13 Secondary School students and can also contribute towards NCEA achievement standards.

Reserve Bank economists, who judged the entries, were impressed with the quality of the presentations and the way the schools interpreted the current economic environment.

“We were looking for teams that understood Monetary Policy, could communicate this well and answer questions to apply their knowledge,” Judges Amy Rice and Amber Watson said.

“Students did well analysing issues that are of current interest to the Bank, such as the effect of migration and the drivers of consumption.”

The finalists will travel to the Bank in Wellington for the National finals on 5 July to give an oral presentation and compete for the title of Challenge winner and the winning team will be invited back to the Reserve Bank on 10 August 2017 to attend the Monetary Policy Statement media conference.

MPC website: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/challenge/

| A RBNZ release  ||  June 7, 2017   |||