Department Life
Department of Economics
Graduate Program

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
The Economics Research Library
Computer Facilities
Statistical Consulting Service
Social Functions

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

The Federal Reserve system is responsible for the United States’ monetary policy and plays a direct role in influencing the supply and cost of money. The Fed also supervises banking organizatins and provides services to financial institutions. The Fed employs a number of research economists and spearheads research into money, monetary policy, and banking. The Department has a long-standing relationship with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (often called “the Fed”). Many of our faculty hold joint appointments with the University of Minnesota and the Federal Reserve. The Fed also employs a few students every year as research assistants. Typically, these students have completed their written prelims as these students are usually the most qualified candidates. Research assistants are employed for one year, although quite often the position is renewed for a second year. This position provides an opportunity to work with a number of highly active researchers, who are not only economists employed by the fed but also consultants and visitors.

The Economics Research Library

The Department of Economics at Minnesota funds its own library, the Economics Research Library (ERL). The ERL is located in room 3-145 Hanson Hall. The library is primarily for use by the faculty and economics graduate students. The collection consists of books, journals, and working papers. We acquired the papers from economics departments around the world in exchange for our own papers. Now, of course, new papers are available online, but some older issues are not, so we have an extensive archive in print.

We also have a reference section consisting of economics directories and other reference works. There are computers in the library to access online information and University-paid subscription databases. We provide reference service, a copy machine (5 cents per page), and quiet study space on weekday afternoons.

Computer Facilities

The Economics Department provides a computer lab which may be used 24 hours a day free of charge. The terminals in the lab give full access to the West Bank computer network.
The Social Sciences Research Facility Center (SSRFC) is a support office for faculty, students, and staff who use the Unix environment for research. It primarily serves the departments of Economics, Geography, History, Political Science and Sociology as well as assisting other departments involved n research using Unix systems.

The SSRFC maintains numerous Unix workstations and X-terminals at its office which are available to all users. It also maintains various Unix workstations and X-terminals in the client departments. The following software is currently provided on Sun SPARC stations:

Statistical Consulting Service

Graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota can get help with all statistical aspects of research, from study design to analysis and nterpretation of results. Students may get help either from the Statistical Clinic staffed by statistics graduate students, or from faculty consultants. There is no charge for this service.

Social Functions

The Department of Economics is made up of faculty, staff, and students who enjoy socializing with each other and take many opportunities to do so. There are many parties throughout the year, hosted not only by the department, but also by individual faculty members or the Graduate Student Social Committee. The department has a faculty-sponsored Happy Hour every Friday at one of the local bars, where faculty and students gather to talk about the latest in economics in a convivial atmosphere. The department also sponsors a "Donut Hour" every Tuesday in the departmental lounge. The Donut Hour offers an opportunity for faculty, students and staff to mingle and discuss economics or any other pressing topics.

There are also some more formal, and purely social occasions throughout the year. In September, the department welcomes their new students with a party held at either a local park or at a faculty member's home. This party enables the entering students to meet each other, current students in the program, faculty and staff before starting their studies.

The departmental Holiday Party is held in December every year. Students, faculty and staff contribute festive dishes from their native countries, and in years past, the faculty and staff have faced off in games of knowledge and skill. At the 2005 holiday party, a faculty team competed with two student teams in a game designed by a group of graduate students that forced the teams to match their knowledge of economics, popular culture and undergraduate trends. We are pleased to report that a student team was again victorious.

The Spring Picnic and Softball game is another popular annual event. Again last year, a team of graduate students, the "Heller's Angels," opposed a team of faculty members, "Nominal Irrelevance." The softball game is followed by a barbecue, which allows both faculty and students to showcase their cooking skills. Softball is not the only game played at the picnic; volleyball, soccer(football) and hackeysack are offered as well.

June 6, 2008

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