Each year the Royal Economic Society asks Year 12 and 13 students to submit an essay for The Young Economist of the Year Essay Competition, with this year’s competition open to those studying A-Level, International Baccalaureate (IB) or Scottish Highers qualifications.
For 2021, students were asked to write an essay of up to 1,000 words on one of five given topics, ranging from the pandemic to Brexit. This year the competition had over 1,000 submissions from students across the country.
The Royal Economic Society is pleased to announce that the overall winner of this year’s competition is Marc Kadir of Manchester Grammar School. Marc will receive a cash prize and have his essay published in the Financial Times, which will be available to read on our website and on the FT’s in the coming weeks. Alongside the overall winner, the Society are pleased to name the remaining three winners:
- Bruno Moura (“When, if ever, is it a good idea for central banks to set interest rates below zero?”
- Haoyu Wang (“We will fail to address climate change because Covid-19 showed we are unable to muster a concerted global response to common crises? Do you agree?”)
- Konrad Kurczynski (“Technological change will mean the wage gap between the skilled and unskilled will simply keep growing? Do you agree with this assessment?”)
The following were shortlisted and highly commended by the judging panel:
- Henry Ward of The Downs School, Newbury
- Jessica Cheung, Sutton Grammar School
- Tilly Mobley, Marlborough College
- Manav Sood, Rushcliffe School, West Bridgeford
- Oluwajoba Thomas, Bedford School, Hemel Hempstead
- Oliver Greenfield, Lingfield College, Surrey
- Jasmeen Johal, Guildford High School
- Melinda Zhu, Westminster School, London
- Yana Imykshenova, St Paul's Girls School, London
The following candidates were commended by the judging panel:
- Zhong Tong Zhang, St. Edward's School, Oxford
- Matthew Bonin, The Skinner's School, Tunbridge Wells
- Nevis Tompkins, Sutton Grammar School
- Henry Hall, Southend High School for Boys
- John Chang, Eton College, Windsor
- Sumayya Manji, North London Collegiate School, London
- Arjun Manoj Nair, St. Alban's School
- Isaac George Gilroy Baxter, King's School, Bruton
- Sameera Anjali Bhalotra Bowers, Colchester County High School for Girls
- Rachel Large, Churcher's College, Petersfield
- James Bradshaw, Lawrence Sheriff School, Rugby
- Jin Samson, Christ's Hospital School, Horsham
- James Trotman, St Paul's School, London
- Keyi Xue, The Abbey School, Reading
- Xinyu Fu, St Paul's School, London
- Helen Tianying Deng, King Edward's School, Bath
- Dylan Sellors, Aylesbury Grammar School
- Anya Saund, Westminster School, London
- Thomas Wright, Royal Grammar School, Guildford
- Dev Patel, Wembley High Technology College, London
- Luke Philipson, Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham
- Oladipo Olukanni, King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford
- Matthew Stubbs, Kimberley Sixth Form College, Bedford
- Francesca Shi, Westminster School, London
- Issah Ali Merchant, Harrow School, London
- Shampavi Sabesan, The Tiffin Girl's School, Richmond
- Samuel Oloniluyi-Abel, Finchley Catholic High School, London
- Oluwatope Omole, London Academy of Excellence
- Ollie Max McPherson Robinson, Royal Grammar School, Guildford
- Dawid Polus, Peter Symonds College, Winchester
The Society would like to congratulate all of 2021’s winners and thank everybody who participated.
The Society would also like to remind you to take advantage of free access to the Financial Times for schools and students.
