Research

ERI Research Competition

A research competition for high school students. You pick one question about economics or business, write a paper on it, and defend it. Entry is $25. First place wins $400, second $200, and third $150.

Details coming February 2027
RulesEmail us
Entry fee
$25
Prizes
$400 · $200 · $150
Who
High school students, alone or in a team
Details
Coming February 2027
Two tracks

Pick the one that fits your question

Empirical

You collect or find data and use it to test a question. That could be a survey you ran or public data you analyzed.

Analytical

You answer a question with an argument or a model, using evidence that already exists.

Examples

Questions that would work

  1. 01

    Did a city’s rideshare fee change bus ridership, and for whom?

    Empirical
  2. 02

    Why do two grocery stores three blocks apart charge different prices for the same milk?

    Empirical
  3. 03

    When a local minimum wage rises, which businesses cut hours first?

    Empirical
  4. 04

    Is one dominant delivery app in a small town a monopoly problem?

    Analytical
  5. 05

    What would a tariff on one imported good do to the price of a local substitute?

    Analytical
Rules

The rules

Who can enter

High school students. You can enter alone or as a small team. Entering does not count toward the one-event limit in the Competitive Events. Everyone listed as an author must have done real work on the paper.

Fee and prizes

The entry fee is $25. It is separate from the Competitive Events fee. First place wins $400, second $200, and third $150. We publish selected papers in the ERI Review.

The paper

  • An abstract of 250 words or fewer
  • Sections for your question, background, method, evidence, findings, limits, and conclusion
  • A source for every factual claim
  • Your data and code, if you used any

We will post the word limit in February 2027 with the rest of the details.

Originality and AI

The question, analysis, and writing must be yours. Tell us if the paper was published or entered somewhere else before. You can use AI tools for grammar, formatting, search, and help with code, and you must say so in your submission. You cannot submit AI-written analysis or text as your own, and you cannot make up data or citations.

Surveys and interviews

If your research involves other people, do not collect sensitive personal data, tell people what the research is for, and keep their answers anonymous. You need approval from ERI before you collect any data from minors. Email viyan@econstax.net to request approval or with any questions.

Judging and defense

Judging will be by professionals. Judges read papers without the authors’ names and score the six things below. A judge does not score a paper from their own school or by someone they know. The top authors give a short presentation and answer questions from the judges.

  1. QuestionIs the question specific and answerable?
  2. Evidence and methodDoes the method fit the question, and is the data handled honestly?
  3. ReasoningDoes the argument follow from the evidence?
  4. InsightDid you find something a reader did not already know?
  5. LimitationsDid you say where the work is weak?
  6. WritingCan someone outside the field follow it?

Submitting

Submissions are not open yet. The full details, including the dates and the submission form, come out in February 2027 on this page.