FCDO Next Generation Economics 20242025 competition

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) coordinates the UK’s diplomatic relationships, promotes UK interests abroad, and manages the UK’s overseas development budget.

The Next Generation Economics competition is managed by the FCDO in collaboration with the Hub for Equal Representation (HER) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Economics is important to our work, whether it is evaluating the sustainability of the UK’s international climate change commitments or analysing the contribution of the UK in reducing global poverty through aid programmes. Economics helps the FCDO make the most of each pound of taxpayer money.

The Next Generation Economics competition

The FCDO invites UK school students to write about the biggest economic challenges facing their generation. The competition is open until 2811 JuneMay 2024.2025.

We want:

• to hear your ideas on one of the biggest economic challenges facing your generation. The FCDO represents UK interests across the world, and our economists work on finding and analysing solutions to global challenges

• to inspire the next generation of economists. Our competition aims to demonstrate how economics is a vital tool for answering important, urgent policy questions

• the next generation of economists to be even more diverse and open-minded than the current generation. We encourage you to enter the competition, whatever your background (and however much you know about economics). Find out more about diversity in the economics profession

Competition themesQuestions

To enter, submit your letter responding to 1 out of these 4 questions: 

1. 2023While Nobelfree Prizetrade laureatehas Claudiabeen Goldinthe statesdominant thatview unequalin divisionthe oflast caregivingdecades, andprotectionist householdpolicies responsibilitiesare playon athe keyrise. roleWhat inare genderthe paydrivers gap.of Whatthe policiesglobal couldmoves governmentsaway implementfrom tofree increasetrade femaleand participationhow inshould the paidUK economy?  respond?

2. InternationalDaron effortsAcemoglu, toSimon reduceJohnson carbonand emissionsJames increaseA. demandRobinson were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics. Their work demonstrated the importance of inclusive institutions for cleana energycountry’s technologydevelopment and criticaleconomic minerals.prosperity. How couldshould materialthe richFCDO support the development of inclusive institutions in developing countries capitalizeand onwhat thefactors demandmight forthe criticalUK mineralswant to boostconsider growth?  when doing so?

3. ClimateOnly changeone-third plusof places in undergraduate economics programmes in the impactUK ofare globaltaken conflictup onby internationalwomen. supplyBut chainswomen haswho enhancedchoose riskto onstudy foodeconomics security.are Whatmore marketlikely interventionto canachieve governmentsa across2:1 the(or worldabove) takein their undergraduate degree compared to mitigatemale foodstudents securityfrom risk?  the same socio-economic background and ethnicity. Why are women disproportionally not choosing the economic profession and how can academic institutions and governments reduce the barriers to participation?

4. According to the UN,IMF 3.3and billionthe peopleWorld nowBank, livefive inLow-Income countriesCountries whereare debtin interestdebt-distress, paymentswhile another 28 are greaterassessed thanas expenditurehaving ona healthhigh orrisk education.of Whatdebt actionsdistress. couldWhy governmentsis globallydebt takedistress tobad ensurefor debta doescountry? notHow preventcan investmentthe towardsFCDO development?support a nation’s development whilst reducing its debt servicing costs?

Writing tips and links to helpful sources can be found in the ‘Useful information’ section.

We will announce the results on this webpage in July 2024.

Who can enter  

To enter, you must be: 

• at least 14 years old 
• studying in the UK at secondary school level (including sixth form and elective home education or home schooling), or at a British international school 

You do not need to be studying or have studied economics. 

Entering the competition is free.

Prizes  

We will announce the competition results in Julythe 2024.third quarter of 2025. There are several prizes on offer: 

• the winner will receive a cash prize of £500 
• 2 runners up will each receive 250  a prize of £250  
• 5 shortlisted entrants will receive a prize of £100 each 

The winner will present their essay to Adnan Khan, FCDO Chief Economist. 

The top 8 entrants will be offered a fully-funded visit to the FCDO and the London School of Economics in London. They will also meet with one of the co-directors of the Hub for Equal Representation at the LSE. Fully-funded visits are only available to UK-based entrants. 

We will publish the letters of the winner and runners up on the GOV.UK website and share them across the Government Economic Service.  

The top 25 entrants will each receive an economics book, chosen from a shortlist selected by the FCDO Chief Economist.

How to submit your entry   

Do not include any personal information in the main part of your letter. This allows us to mark entries anonymously and as fairly as possible. You should include this in the covering email instead. 

Your entry should: 

• be formatted as a letter addressed to the FCDO’sthe Foreign ChiefSecretary: EconomistThe AdnanRt KhanHon David Lammy MP 
• be 1,000 words or fewer 
• clearly reference any evidence included. We recommend using the Harvard referencing style. References are not included in the word count 
• not

The use applicationsof suchartificial asintelligence ChatGPT(AI) oris permitted. However, please be mindful that AI is likely to generate similar responses for other formsentrants ofand artificialis intelligenceknown (AI)  to frequently fabricate references. Submissions will be rewarded for their novelty and creativity, and we will check references.

Entries can include graphs and graphics, but these are not essential. 

You can ask an economics teacher for advice on the themes they plan to cover, economic concepts, recommended sources and writing styles.  

Find more information about writing like an economist and where to find useful sources.

The competition FCDO entryNext templateGeneration Economics Entry Template (ODT, 6.7 KB) includes a table at the top with information including your name, age and school. Fill this in, remove it from the template and include it in your email to us.  

How to do this: