Each year some or all of the local Federal Reserve branches run competitions for high school students that challenge teens to act as economists and policy makers. This is a great way for a teen interested in business and economics to explore some of the practical applications of what’s being learned in the classroom.
High School Fed Challenges are run by regional Federal Reserve banks and can follow different formats ranging from academic papers to in person presentations. For example, the New York Fed Challenge is: The High School Fed Challenge “is an academic paper competition where teams of students act as future economists by researching and analyzing an important economic theme.”
How do I get started? Figure out your closest Federal Reserve Bank to find out more about this year’s competition. For example, if you live in NY, click here.
How do I expand this narrative arc?
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Are you an innovative thinker? Consider entering the Mastercard Challenge, where you create new financial products to expand banking access to underserved populations
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Combine business sense with public interest activism when you enter the Mastercard Challenge to improve banking access to low income populations.
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Compete in the National Economics Challenge
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Try the Wharton Investment Competition
HOT TIP: This is an amazing link between real world and classroom, and a wonderful way to elevate your profile and your understanding of applied economics.
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