The 2022 International Essay Contest is sponsored by the Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association (HUEA) in conjunction with the Harvard College Economics Review (HCER). This essay competition is open to high school students of any year and is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate an accomplished level of writing and understanding of economic theory. Through the contest, student competitors hone their academic and professional skills and exhibit their knowledge to future employers and academic programs.
Competitors must construct a convincing argument using economic theory and real-world examples. Winning essays will be published in the Harvard Economics Review and will be available for the greater Harvard community to read. Essays should focus on argumentation supported with facts and references, although data-based support is also welcome.
Rules
Entrants must choose one of the four prompts and write a response to it with a strict limit of 1500 words. Submission must be via the HUEA website and entrants are limited to submitting one essay with only the first submission being considered. Each essay submission will have a $20 reading fee which should be paid upon submission of the essay. The deadline for submitting the essay is 11:59pm EST December 15, 2022.
The essays will be judged by the boards of the HUEA and HCER, with the top 10 submissions being adjudicated by the esteemed Harvard professor and 2016 Economics Nobel Prize winner Oliver Hart.
Entry Requirements
Entry is $20 and is open to high school students from any country and any school. Please reach out to our team if you have questions regarding submissions.
Submission Instructions
1. Pay the reading fee at the top of this page, using Paypal or Venmo. If Venmo, format your payment details as "Firstname Lastname, your@email.com, 2022 HUEA Essay Contest"
2. Register and submit your essay in the box "Submit your essay here"
3. Note: You will not receive confirmation of receipt of essay. We will email you if it is missing.
Each essay should address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 1500 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). Please submit your essay in pdf format. The title of the pdf attachment should read Last Name_First Name_Question Number (e.g. Smith_John_2).
2022 Essay Questions
- In recent years and decades, many countries have seen fertility rates drop, potentially leading to falling populations. Currently, China has a fertility rate of 1.3, one of the lowest in the world. However, in 2021, China experienced GDP growth of 8% with output totaling $17.7 trillion. Will this lowered fertility rate (with potential to fall further) affect China’s economic growth and policy? How so? What, if anything, can the Chinese government do to limit the risk of falling fertility rates?
- U.S. mortgage rates recently passed 7%, making the purchase of a new home increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, the United States has suffered from a chronic shortage of available housing for decades, particularly in urban areas, leading to what many scholars and advocates call an affordability crisis. Why is housing so unaffordable in the U.S.? What can (or should) be done by private actors, state and local governments, and the federal government to alleviate the affordability crisis?
- It is often suggested that a tradeoff exists between economic growth and the health of the environment, especially now as the threat of climate change becomes more dire. What economic risks does a changing climate pose? Can economic growth be consistent with a healthy environment? What policies, either market-based or otherwise, should governments enact to protect the environment while posing the least danger to economic efficiency?
- Central banks such as the Federal Reserve in the U.S. and the Bank of England in the UK manage their nation’s macroeconomies with the goal of ensuring price stability and maximum employment. Globally, inflation rates are rising to levels not seen since the 1980s, particularly in the U.S. and European countries. To what extent should the monetary policies of central banks in various Western countries differ or resemble one another as a reaction to the specific causes of inflation facing their economies?
Terms and Conditions
The word limit of 1500 must be strictly adhered to. Any words past the limit will be truncated. This limit excludes references, footnotes, titles, headers and footers.
Essays must be written only by the entrant who declared they wrote it, and any outside assistance must be declared in the submission form.
Only your first submission will be accepted. Any further submissions will not be read.
References must be included, and any plagiarism will lead to disqualification.
References must be in Chicago or APA format.
The only accepted document formatting is PDF. Any other format will not be accepted, nor will refunds be given to those who do follow this rule.
No refunds are granted.
Grades 9-12 are permitted.
The essay must not be entered in any other competition nor be published elsewhere.
No individual feedback of essays will be granted.
The decisions made by the HUEA, HCER and by the final round of adjudication are final.
All winners agree to their names being published on the HUEA website.
Last date: 15 December 2022
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