Every year Cambridge Society for Economic Pluralism hosts its essay competition to encourage students to go beyond their curriculum and explore important questions society faces today.
Below are the questions for the 2024 edition of the competition:

1) What are the particular economic problems facing the nascent UK Labour government in implementing its intended program? Outline some steps it should take in facing these.

2) Is the US’ political and financial strength a good thing for its domestic economy?

3) How do power and conflict (personal, sectional, class-based etc.) manifest in micro- and macro- economic outcomes? Discuss with reference to a specific outcome such as inflation or income distribution.

4) Robert Solow once said, “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.”. Was he right, and will the rise of AI be much the same? What are the broader lessons we should draw for the theory and data-analysis of technical change?

5) What is the root cause of the continued plight of the undeveloped world? Are they just unlucky or do developed countries have responsibility for their situation?

Essential information

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• The competition is open to all students starting Year 12 or 13 (i.e. taking A Levels or IB or equivalents in the next two years) in September 2024.
• Please submit just one essay for just one of the questions posed.
• Please write in English, with good grammar, and assume a basic knowledge on the behalf of those assessing your essay.
• We encourage you to be open to a broad range of economic and non-economic perspectives and to deliver your argument in a clear and well-evidenced manner.
• The essay should be between 1500 and 2500 words (excluding citations, bibliography, footnotes, headers etc.)
• Entries should be submitted by Sunday 8th September at 23:59 UK Time (GMT +1)
• Please include a bibliography and references to your sources throughout. As long as it is clear, the style does not matter, but Harvard-referencing is preferred.
• The use of Generative AI is not banned, however we would prefer it if you ensured any use was a complement to the creativity of your own argument, rather than a substitute. If it used, it must be declared, or you may face disqualification.

Format and submission details

• At the beginning of your essay please write your question number or title, but do not put your name or school.
• At the end of your essay please note the wordcount, excluding the bibliography, citations, footnotes and headers. If you used AI,  please declare this at the end also.
• As long as the formatting is clear, there are no specific rules, but please ensure the font is at a readable size and the text is not obscured.
• Please upload your entry at the following link: https://forms.gle/8z7WTEabMmWkBFUW9
• Please ensure it is a PDF saved under the filename 'Your_Name-Question#' (e.g. John_Maynard_Keynes-Q1)
• Late submissions will not be considered.
• If there are issues with submission please email csep.docs@gmail.com with any queries.

Prizes

• We will shortlist the top 4 entries and have them read by a faculty member at Cambridge to assist in our final decision.

• This prize awarding process should be conducted within 1-3 weeks of the deadline.
• First prize receives £50.
• Three runners-up, each receiving £15.

• Top 10% receiving a note of commendation

• All winners will receive a certificate and be featured on our website.

Final comments

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 following terms and conditions of the CSEP Essay Competition.

Terms and conditions
Please make sure you have read and agree to the terms and conditions before entering the
competition. By entering the CSEP essay competition you agree to the following terms and
conditions:
Schedule A – Submission
The submission must be entirely your own work, you may not receive assistance from any other
Person (see below, for AI) and the submission must be produced solely for the purpose of the Cambridge Society
for Economic Pluralism (CSEP) essay competition.
The use of Generative AI is not banned. Any use of AI must be declared, and any essays found to have used AI without this declaration, will be, at the decision of the committee, disqualified.
The submission may not be used in any other essay competition, any public examinations or otherwise used to receive credit outside of the CSEP essay competition.
Once submitted, changes cannot be made. If multiple submissions are received, CSEP will only consider the earliest submission, regardless of differences between submissions.
CSEP reserves the right to not consider essays that fall outside of the word limit, or are submitted after the deadline, or are not submitted in an accepted format.
Essays must be written in English.
CSEP reserves the right to check for plagiarism and to disqualify any entries believed to be wholly or in part plagiarised.
Schedule B – Eligibility
Currently in full-time secondary education.
In Year 12 or 13 or equivalent in September of the year of competition (i.e. year 2024 for 2024 Essay Competition).
Year 12/13 is the penultimate/final year of secondary education in the United Kingdom. Standard school leaving age differs across countries. ‘Or Equivalent’ is deemed to be in the penultimate/final year of full-time secondary education.
Students do not have to be studying in the United Kingdom.
Schedule C – Usage and Adjudication
By submitting this essay you give CSEP permission to publish or reproduce all or part of your
submission without compensation of any kind.
CSEP is unable to give feedback on all submissions.
CSEP reserves the right to select winners, runners up and a shortlist at the discretion of the CSEP committee.

The CSEP committee can alter the number of winners, runners up and the size of the shortlist without notice and reserves the right to not give reasons for these changes.
There is no appeals process and CSEP reserves the right to not explain or publish reasons for any of its decisions.
The CSEP committee is appointed at the discretion of previous committees.
Schedule D – Data protection
Any personal data relating to entrants will be used solely for the purposes of this competition.
By entering the competition, you consent to the CSEP committee giving any personal details you submit to external judges solely for the purpose of adjudicating the CSEP essay competition.
Personal data will not be passed on to third parties without the entrant’s prior consent.