NEW YORK – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today announced a new format for the High School Fed Challenge, an annual competition designed to enhance and promote economic education. Starting in September 2020, the High School Fed Challenge will transition from its current in-person format to an academic paper competition in which teams of students will submit a paper based on an economic theme selected by the New York Fed. The top papers will be selected for publication in the New York Fed's Journal of Future Economists. Any high school in the Federal Reserve's Second District – which includes New York State, Northern New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Fairfield County, Connecticut - will be eligible to participate in the updated program.
For 25 years, the New York Fed's High School Fed Challenge has sought to promote the study of economics, finance and monetary policy and has helped students across the Second District develop valuable analytical, collaborative, and communication skills. The updated format seeks to enhance access to the program, particularly among schools for which travel to an in-person competition may have been prohibitive. It also strives to advance interest in the study of economics among students who may not have had previous coursework in the topic.
"The High School Fed Challenge is critical to the New York Fed's long-standing commitment to economic education and we're excited to bring this impactful resource to a wider audience of students and educators through this new format," said Anika Pratt, assistant vice president at the New York Fed. "By fostering important research, teamwork and writing skills, the new academic paper competition seeks to encourage the kind of intellectual collaboration used by real-world researchers and help students form a more personal connection with the study of economics and finance."
Under the new program, student teams will submit a paper addressing an economic theme chosen for the year's competition. Each school may submit one paper, authored by its designated team. As in the past, teams may also make use of faculty advisors. Students and faculty from non-economic disciplines, such as social studies, history, government or language arts, are also encouraged to participate. The theme for the 2020-2021 competition will be announced in September 2020.
The top papers and their affiliated teams will be selected for publication in the Journal of Future Economists, which will be made available in print and online versions. Top papers will be selected based on a holistic evaluation process that will consider academic quality and the relevance and variety of paper topics submitted. This process will also strive to reflect the breadth of communities that comprise the Second District. Additionally, all participating schools and their teams will be listed and recognized within the Journal, regardless of whether their paper was chosen for publication.
More information on the new High School Fed Challenge,including FAQs, program deadlines and a rubric for submissions, can be found here.
