2023 Essay Competition
Every year Cambridge Society for Economic Pluralism hosts its Essay Competition to encourage sixth form students to go beyond their curriculum and explore important questions society faces today.
Below are the questions for the latest installation of our annual essay competition, open to all students starting Year 12 or 13 (or equivalent) in September 2023 (ie taking A Levels or IB or equivalents in the next two years).
We welcome essays in response to any of the 5 titles written below. When writing their essays, we encourage students to be open to a broad range of perspectives whilst developing a clear line of argument.
Please include a bibliography with references to your sources.
Essays should be between 1500 and 2000 words in length (excluding any citations) and entries should be submitted by 23:59 UK Time (GMT+1) on August 15th, 2023.
Please submit your essay via this form: https://forms.gle/SkfM4kyvhs1NuogD7
Award winners shall consist of one 1st prize winner and three runners-up. The 1st prize winner will receive a cash prize of £50. The runners-up will each receive a cash prize of £15. All winners will receive certificates of commendation for their work and be featured in CSEP's website. Prize winners will be contacted individually by October 1st 2023. The shortlisted entries will be read by a professor in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge.
Click this link to see past winners: https://www.cambridgepluralism.org/essay-archive
If you have any queries about the competition, please send an email with your question to csep.docs@gmail.com.
By submitting your essay, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the CSEP Essay Competition.
01
Discuss, with reference to two countries, to what extent, and under what circumstances, global trade and foreign investment and lending have been important to developing countries’ economic catchup since 1970?
01
Discuss, with reference to two countries, to what extent, and under what circumstances, global trade and foreign investment and lending have been important to developing countries’ economic catchup since 1970?
03
Crypto Currency
Is crypto currency the future of money?
04
Poverty
How did Covid-19 Crisis interact with world inequality? What's the implication of your finding for government policies?
05
History of Economic Thought
Despite its dominance in 20th century economic thought, neoclassical ideas have come under considerable criticism in the past decade for its assumptions of rational preferences and utility-maximisation, among others. Is neoclassical economics still relevant to economic analysis today?