YEI EventEconOlympiad

Get the chance to earn prizes, network with like-minded peers, and learn from engaging speakers while putting your knowledge of economics to the test. Cooperate in a team-based competition to unravel solutions to current economic issues.

Interested? EconOlympiad is open to ALL middle and high school students! Submit your presentation by April 24th at 11:59pm PST.

Prompt

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Rubric

Event InformationWhat is EconOlympiad?

EconOlympiad is a two-part competition focused on not just the knowledge of economics, but also the application. The first part is a presentation round in which you and your team will have three weeks to develop and submit a video that responds to a provided prompt. The second part is a debate round. After completing the presentation, top teams will advance to a debate round. A prompt will be released, and teams will have one week to research and prepare. Results from both rounds will compose your team’s final score.

Professors from the country’s top economics programs will serve as judges for both the presentation and debate rounds.

Presentation Round

Competitors will have up to three week to create their presentation up to 10 minutes in duration. There will be a prompt that focuses on Macroeconomics concepts. Your group will have a chance to research the prompts, take a position, provide facts to support your argument, and use your reasoning to tie it all together.

Debate Round

Top teams will participate in a debate with a prompt different from previous choices, determining the final EconOlympiad winners.

Prompt

Evaluate the motivations and short/long-term political, economic, and social impacts of President Trump’s protectionist policies. Then, propose alternative policy solutions to address their challenges and/or unintended consequences, either as supplements or replacements.

EconOlympiad

Key Dates

March 1st, 2025: Prompts released (asynchronous).
March 1st, 2025 - April 24th, 2025: Prepare presentations (asynchronous).
Groups will have 5 weeks to research, collaborate, and record their presentations. Upload and submit your video by 11:59pm PST on April 24th.
May 10th, 2025: Debate round qualifiers announced over social media.
May 24th, 2025: Debate round & awards ceremony (synchronous)
Qualifying teams will have the chance to debate each other on a new prompt.

Cash Prizes

1st: $
2nd: $
3rd: $

We intend that prizes will be awarded in the form of gift cards as well. We understand that this is a hefty request and thus any contribution would be greatly appreciated.

About the Speakers

Derek S Stimel

Derek S Stimel is an Associate Professor of Teaching Economics at UC Davis. Read his bio.

Piotr Dworczak

Piotr Dworczak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Northwestern University. Read his bio.

Finished your presentation?

Upload as an unlisted video to YouTube and submit below!

Frequently Asked Questions

: This is a team competition. Each team must have 3 to 4 members. If you haven’t found a team yet but would still like to compete, you can join our grabbag channel within our Discord Server specifically for team matching.
: Students in middle school or high school, including international students, are eligible to participate!
: After creating your presentation, upload it onto the submission form and you will automatically be registered as one of our participating teams!
: No, EconOlympiad is open to everyone! If you would like to become a YEI chapter, however (which we highly recommend — there are so many benefits!), you can fill out the club registration form .
: No, you and your teammates do not have to be from the same school, state, or even country! Given that the competition is completely virtual, interschool and interstate teams are permitted, and even encouraged for EconOlympiad. However, be sure to still list all schools/states/countries in the form, separating each with a slash.
: Competitors will have three weeks to work on their video pitch presentation. For top teams, scores from this round will be combined with scores of the debate round to determine the EconOlympiad champions! Otherwise, scores from the presentation round will be used to determine rankings.
: You will need a Zoom account to attend the opening ceremony, debate round, and awards ceremony. A device capable of recording is required for creating the presentation.
: EconOlympiad is absolutely free (the only cost is the opportunity cost of not participating)!
: Email events@theyei.org.

Testimonials

Hear what our past competitors have to say!

"The staff and judges were highly professional, providing us with many different learning opportunities."

"The instructions and the way the event flowed was perfect!"

"I really enjoy this initiative and cannot wait to participate in it during future years. The staff and proctors were great and so were the guest speakers/judges."

EconOlympiad Sponsors