Upcoming Competitions
Essay competitions are a great way to both explore your academic and intellectual passions, and display them to potential university admissions tutors. They allow you to exhibit your university skills of …
Dorian Fisher Memorial Essay Prize 2020
The final deadline for this year’s competition is Friday 24th July 2020.
Entries to the competition should contain the following three pieces of work:
1. A short essay, of roughly 1,200 words, on one of the following questions:
(a) Why do economists focus more on individual choices and interactions between individuals, and less on collective action?
(b) “Cities and their connections, rather than nations, are now the key units of the world economy”. Is this true and if so what are the implications?
(c) What exactly is economic growth and why do some parts of the world grow more rapidly than others?
2. A 500-word answer to one of the following three questions:
(a) What does the concept of rationality mean in economics?
(b) What do economists mean by scarcity and why is that idea so central in economics?
(c) Is there anything that cannot be given an economic value?
3. A 500-word answer to the following question.
Identify an area of economics that you think should be given more attention in the A-Level or IB syllabus and say why this is so.
Read more details on how to enter here.
Royal Economics Society Young Economist of the Year 2020 Essay Competition
The Royal Economic Society's Young Economist of the Year Essay Competition is now open. In partnership with the Financial Times, the RES is inviting Year 12 and 13 A-Level students to submit a 1500-word essay on one of five titles to be in with a chance of winning £1,000 and have their essay published in the FT. The deadline is 27 July.
The essay topics:
“A Mansion Tax is an idea whose time has come.” Discuss.
Will targets to bring greenhouse gas emissions in the UK to net zero by 2050 be a drag on economic growth?
"The gig economy is a great opportunity to increase women’s participation in the labour market by allowing more flexibility." Discuss.
Given the concentration of high-value economic sectors in big cities, is a promise to significantly reduce regional inequalities by ‘levelling up’ possible to fulfil?
From an economic point of view, are rules limiting the transfer of data to other countries on privacy or security grounds any different from protectionism in the trade of goods?
Read more info on how to enter here.
Access Enrichment
Launching the Access Enrichment’s inaugural humanities competition.
Deadline 30th August 2020
Word limit 2000 words
One of the following titles:
1. There is no room for morals in Economics. Discuss
2. The Oxford PPE degree is to blame for the ills in today’s society. Discuss
3. AI will be a curse for humanity. Discuss
4. Universal Basic Income will become a necessity within the next 50 years. Discuss.
5. Economics is a dismal science. Discuss.
Entries should be typed, properly referenced, with a bibliography and word count.
The winner will win a ticket to an invitation-only debate at the Cambridge Union.
Entries should be sent to directly to this year’s judge: M.T@cantab.net by Midnight on 31st July 2020
GOOD LUCK!
LSE Essay Competition 2020
One of the following essays:
1. ‘Poor countries benefit the most from prioritising investments in health.’ Do you agree?
2. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, governments around the world have introduced huge stimulus packages. To what extent should societies be concerned about the short-term and long-term consequences of these policies?
3. Many economists warn that the COVID-19 crisis may worsen existing inequalities. Do you agree? If yes, what policies do you propose to reverse these gaps?
4. There are long-standing concerns about the under-representation of women in the economics profession. Do you agree that this is a problem? If yes, how should this problem be addressed?
5. How important is a country’s historical path in determining its long-run economic development?
6. (CEP 30th Anniversary Prize Question) According to Thomas Jefferson, ‘The care of human life and happiness… is the only legitimate object of good government.’ What will change if governments make happiness the only policy objective?
The submission deadline is 1 August 2020, 23:59 British Standard Time.
Your entry must be in English and at 1,500 words maximum, not including titles, titles of charts, footnotes, citations or bibliography.
You can read more details here.
John Locke Institute Essay
The John Locke Institute has launched its annual essay competition. There are options across seven subjects: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law. Deadline is Wed 15th July, 2020. Read more and enter here.
New College of Humanities essay competition for Y12 pupils
Art History: ‘Oscar Wilde claimed that ‘All art is quite useless’. Can art’s uselessness be a source of it usefulness?’
Economics: ‘Nudges have been successfully used by governments around the world to influence people’s behaviours (Thaler 2008), but will we become immune to such ‘tricks’?’
English: ‘What are literary critics for?’
History: ‘Can history teach us lessons?’
Law: ‘Was the EU Commission correct to fine Google for abuse of a strong market position in online markets?’
Philosophy: ‘What kinds of inequality, if any, are unjust?’
Politics & International Relations: ‘What measures can be taken to increase voter turn-out at elections?’
Enter here.