Euro-Challenge
Scroll to the bottom to download permission forms!I. Overview
Euro-Challenge is a club for underclassmen where 3-5 students present their solution to a problem facing a nation in the Eurozone. In preparation for competition in New York City, they learn about current events in Europe, politics, finance, central banking and macro-economics - the fundamentals used by the highest wage professionals in the world. It practices after school on Tuesdays in A107 and during academy periods for a competition in the spring.
http://www.euro-challenge.org/news/
But there's a big payoff as well, even if we don't win. If you work dilligently through this process you will emerge with a skill set and knowledge base that will make you a rarity among not just high school students, but among all Americans, who are notorious abroad for their lack of knowledge or interest in world affairs or economics. Being the exception to this rule will make you even more attractive to colleges and future employers both public and private. You could could be that person with the dream gig in Berlin, Bermuda, Barcelona, London or Prague!
In order to do well, we need vast amounts of two types of knowledge: 1. Macroeconomic theory and vocabulary2. European economic current events and historyYou will also need to practice for the following skills:1. Presenting a briefing on A. economic conditions in the entire Euro zone and B. a particular issue facing one nation using the Euro along with C. ideas about how to solve it.2. Take Q & A on these issues from economic and financial professionals.3. Devise strategies for presenting and answering questions as a team.Find more detail on the rules and demonstration videos are here:http://www.euro-challenge.org/about.html____________________________________________II. CalendarYou ought to know a few things up front. Teams consist of 3-5 individuals with a couple of standbys in case someone gets 'the swine' and cannot attend. The Euro Challenge is just for ninth and tenth graders, sorry upperclassmen! The team will meet until 3:30, after school every Tuesday in A107. Regular attendance, plenty of outside research and meeting will be expected between now and the competition. If you don't pull your weight and add to the team, you get cut.The competition is conducted in two rounds, both held in New York City. The first regional preliminary elimination will be in March, at one of the two big Credit Suisse Buildings in Manhattan.If we survive the cut, we move on to the national final held about a month later at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10045. Awards and a reception follow that evening at The Moody’s Corporation, 7 WTC at 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007. The reception may be on the 29th. New York Student Orientation
Thursday, December 19, 8:00 am - 11:45 am The Moody’s Foundation 7 WTC at 250 Greenwich St., 20th Floor, NYC From Grand Central- 4 or 5 train to Fulton St. From Penn. Station- 2 or 3 train to Park Pl.
Euro-Challenge Institute
Practice competion, TBA, probably in January or February
Monday, March 17 – New York Region Preliminary Round
Credit Suisse
11 Madison Ave, New York, NY
Friday, April 11 – Semifinal and Final Rounds
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
33 Liberty Street, New York, NY
June, Washington D.C.
(ONLY if we are in the top 5 finalists), details TBA
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III. Preparing for Practices:The web makes it very easy to get informed, but if you want to win, you'll need to set aside Facebook and Mincraft. You need to be reading EVERY DAY about the European economy as a whole and especially about conditions in the country we choose to focus on.
B.J. and I will help you master complicated macro-economic concepts and finacial history, but it's up to you to gather and integrate TONS of data into a complex and precise picture of the European economy in your mind.
Each week, please prepare a four minute talk on a story about the European economy. Consult at least three different articles on the story or issue to give it some depth:1. Tell us what happened. Use metaphors to explain key concepts.2. Why should it matter to the EU, ordinary Europeans and perhaps the world? Who are the winners and losers? And what do the stakeholders think? Consider multiple interpretations from at least two points of view. What does the story look like from the standpoint of the ECB, national governments, economists, investors, consumers, business, taxpayers, the poor, the U.S., etc. USE STATS!!!3. Offer a forecast or predictions about what will happen next and what people (specific governments, agencies, firms or individuals) ought to do about it. 4. Be prepared to take 3 min. of questions on your topic.We will look for A. accuracy B. analysis C. presentation skill D. ability to handle questions.
You must collectively create a working draft of your talk and graphics ready to go by the end of February break.
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The Basics
The Euro Challenge site provides this page which links to LOTS of useful stuff. Pick two a week to read:
http://www.euro-challenge.org/resources.html
They also have an interactive forum that's worth reading, particularly posts by Nigel. Why not sign up and get your questions answered?
http://www.euro-challenge.org/forum/
You really should look these over to master the basic vocabulary of the EU economy:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ee.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_the_European_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_European_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms_%28European_Union%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_and_Monetary_Union_of_the_European_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stability_and_Growth_Pact
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_the_European_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt
European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Know the history cold... We'll help you understand the mechanisms...
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9QK9FI80.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13856580
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_sovereign_debt_crisis
http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/euro-zone-debt-crisis-timeline-graphic-of-the-day/
http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/eurozone-deal-on-greek-debt-graphic-of-the-day/
In addition, you should make a home for yourself at these sites:
The Economist
This is Britain's premier weekly world news & economics digest - read by the people who really run the world - it's like Time or Newsweek written for adults:
http://www.theonion.com/video/time-announces-new-version-of-magazine-aimed-at-ad,17950/
It has dozens of features worthy of your consideration. Absorb like a sponge.
1. Under 'World Politics', click 'Europe' and read two or three stories. Never miss 'Charlemagne,' the chief European coorespondant whose analysis is quite insightful. Also never miss any feature story dealing with our specialty nation.
2. Also check out 'Country Briefings' to get more info on your country.
3. Don't know what a term means? Click their handy 'Research Tools' and then click 'Economics A-Z'.
der Spiegel:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/
Germany's (and perhaps Europe's) premier newsmagazine. The English language edition is good, but there's a lot more in the native edition. Hotrod firefox with this, and you can read the German edition auf Englisch:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/foxlingo-translator-dictionary/?src=search
Bloomberg:
They don't do deep, investigative stuff, but they do give you the numbers and they update frequently.
Marketplace
Another way to learn the basics of macroeconomics without much reading is to tune into a half-hour daily radio show called 'Marketplace.' They have really interesting people on talking about complex issues in ways that makes obscure ideas like 'derivatives' and 'short selling' comprehensible.
If you can't be by the dial when the show comes on locally on 91.1 FM, you can catch it later online:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/
Most of the show's focus is on American markets and investors, but it does focus its gaze abroad to Europe. You can use its search feature that lets you comb through the programs looking for the stories most pertinent to your current area of interest (pun):
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/episodes/episode_index.php
PBS Newshour
Paul Solman covers the economy and finance for the PBS Newshour. Although he doesn't talk about Europe very often, he does have a knack for making complicated macroeconomic ideas easy to grasp.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/makingsense/
I also recommend the CIA World Factbook as a source for quick stats. Compare the numbers with America's, China's, India's and Japan's for a reality check:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
NPR & the Beeb:
Last but not least, don't forget about National Public Radio the British Broadcasting Corporation. Their coverage of Europe is excellent and it usually puts a human face on economic reporting:
Get to know Slyvia Poggioli, NPR's chief Italy watcher:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101034
http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=2101034
http://www.npr.org/search/index.php?searchinput=italy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/default.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/news/italy
EconStories.tv:
Keynesian economic theory is the basis for the global response to the financial crisis, but there's a chorus of objections from the Austrian school led by disciples of Hayek that underlie a policy alternative.These satirical rap videos do a great job explaining the theoretical behind our central banking policies, along with their advantages and pitfalls:
Start with this one:
http://econstories.tv/2010/06/22/fear-the-boom-and-bust/
The rest are here:
http://econstories.tv/category/videos/
Lectures at CUNY:
CUNY’s European Union Studies Center also offers several free lectures that are of interest to us. Pick one and make a day of it. We'll be going to at least one of them together:
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/eusc/pages/lecture.html
Eurostat:
This takes some getting used to, but once you master it, it will be our go-to graphic farm:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/
