ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL, 2008

topic summary

Note: This committee is a historical committee and will be examining a scenario before the Global Financial Crisis

Hedge funds and public private partnerships present unique challenges to the global economy. The investment strategies hedge funds use represent the cutting edge in terms of investment management, including sophisticated mathematical models, complex trading strategies to exploit subtle arbitrage opportunities and high uses of leverage to magnify returns on equity. Implemented effectively, these institutions have immense potential to contribute to economic and financial development, but also present numerous dangers, ranging from the misallocation of economic resources to widespread economic collapse. Further, while most hedge funds and other institutions run their operation out of advanced industrialized countries such as the U.S. and the UK, their trading positions and innovation in financial instruments can have far-reaching impacts into emerging markets around the world. 

Most experts in the capital markets have credited hedge funds with providing for the efficient allocation of resources and with adding liquidity to financial markets, but few deny  that hedge funds have also dramatically destabilized global capital markets. Because it is so difficult to make sense of the myriad different types of hedge funds and because their presence is so isolated from the general public, there is little public transparency as to their methods, and governments may not have the resources to manage these institutions effectively. The role of 

The role of the ECOFIN in this debate is to decide whether an international standard of best practices for regulation is necessary, and if so, what measures of transparency and risk management hedge funds should be held to.

Director’s Letter

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to The Economic and Financial Committee! My name is Sasha Agarwal and I am beyond excited to serve as your director at HNMUN 2024. 

I am a sophomore at Harvard living in Dunster House, studying Computational Biostatistics and Economics. I grew up in Kolkata, India and was part of my high school’s Model UN club since the eighth grade. I was first introduced to Harvard Model UN at the 2019 HMUN India conference. as a delegate to the WHO. I came back to serve as an Assistant Director to the NGOP committee at HMUN China 2020 and the WHO committee at HMUN India 2020 in high school as a high schooler, and direct at HMUN India 2022, HNMUN LA 2023, and HMUN Boston 2023 once I came to college. I also compete at the intercollegiate level with the Harvard ICMUN team. 

Outside Model UN, I’m interested in the intersection of healthcare and finance. At Harvard, I travel and compete at the intercollegiate level with the Harvard ICMUN team, work part time as a calculus course assistant, serve as a Portfolio Manager for a long/short equity fund, an Associate Director of Engagement for the Harvard College Consulting Group, a special situations analyst with Global Platinum Securities, direct the investment education program for Smart Woman Securities, and do research in health economics and global health. 

My Model UN experiences have been pivotal to helping me think critically about global action, find my voice as an advocate for real world issues I care about, and find some of my closest friends and mentors. I urge you all to put thoughtfulness, collaboration, and creativity at the center of how you tackle these four days, because I’ve found that those are some of the best things this activity has to offer.  

I’m looking forward to conference, and am beyond ecstatic to have the chance to meet all of you in person this February! If you have any questions or concerns about the committee, Model UN, or otherwise, please feel free to reach out. I want to make the conference this year the best possible experience for you, whether you’re coming in as a first timer or a veteran.

My best,

Sasha Agarwal