FCDO Next Generation Economics 2026 competition

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) co-ordinates the UK’s diplomatic relationships, promotes UK interests abroad, and manages the UK’s overseas development budget.

The Next Generation Economics competition is managed by the FCDO in collaboration with the Hub for Equal Representation (HER) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Economics is important to our work, whether it is evaluating the sustainability of the UK’s international climate change commitments or analysing the contribution of the UK in reducing global poverty through aid programmes. Economics helps the FCDO make the most of each pound of taxpayer money.

The Next Generation Economics competition

The FCDO invites UK school students to write about the biggest economic challenges facing their generation. The competition is open until 28 June 2026.

We want:

• to hear your ideas on one of the biggest economic challenges facing your generation. The FCDO represents UK interests across the world, and our economists work on finding and analysing solutions to global challenges
• to inspire the next generation of economists. Our competition aims to demonstrate how economics is a vital tool for answering important, urgent policy questions
• the next generation of economists to be even more diverse and open-minded than the current generation. We encourage you to enter the competition, whatever your background (and however much you know about economics). Find out more about diversity in the economics profession

Competition Questions

To enter, submit your letter responding to 1 out of these 4 questions: 

1. The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was partly awarded to Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for their work on creative destruction – where old industries, jobs, and technologies disappear to make way for new ones. What are the economic implications of creative destruction? You may wish to discuss its impact on economic growth, employment, or inequality.

2. In recent years, many countries have raised tariffs and adopted other protectionist measures. What are the costs and benefits of rising protectionism for countries and the international trading system? How should the UK respond?

3. Globally, women are paid less than men. They are less likely to work, and when they do, are more likely to work in informal and vulnerable employment. How can greater participation of women in the market economy improve economic outcomes? What policies could governments implement to reduce barriers to participation?

4. Climate change poses significant threats to the global economy, especially for developing countries. How can countries pursue economic development sustainably while considering economic constraints and trade-offs? Which policies or technologies could help?

Writing tips and links to helpful sources can be found in the ‘Useful information’ section.

Who can enter  

To enter, you must be: 

• 14 to 18 years of age at the time of submitting
• studying in the UK at secondary school level (including sixth form and elective home education or home schooling), or at a British international school 

You can use real-life experiences and knowledge from any subject (such as geography, history, or politics) to answer the competition questions. Diverse perspectives and examples from different courses are welcome, and you do not need to have studied economics to take part.

Entering the competition is free.

Prizes  

We will announce the competition results in the third quarter of 2026.

For this year’s competition, there will be 2 prize categories: one for the best entries from Under 16 participants and one for best entries from Under 18 participants. This ensures that outstanding work from both age groups is recognised and celebrated.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make your voice heard on the economic challenges that matter most to your generation.

There are several prizes on offer: 

• the winners of each prize category will receive £350 
• the runners up of each prize category will receive £200  
• 2 shortlisted entrants from each prize category will receive £100 each 

The winners will present their essays to Professor Dennis Novy – GOV.UK . 

The top 8 entrants will be offered a fully-funded visit to the FCDO and the London School of Economics in London. They will also meet with one of the co-directors of the Hub for Equal Representation at the LSE. Fully-funded visits are only available to UK-based entrants. 

We will publish the letters of the winners and runners up on the GOV.UK website and share them across the Government Economic Service.  

The top 25 entrants will each receive an economics book, chosen from a shortlist selected by the FCDO Chief Economist.

How to submit your entry   

Do not include any personal information in the main part of your letter. This allows us to mark entries anonymously and as fairly as possible. You should include this in the covering email instead. 

Your entry should: 

We know many students will wish to use large language models (LLMs) and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist with their research, but you should not use these tools to generate the actual content of your entries. Be aware that AI is likely to generate similar material for other entrants, when prompted by the same questions. It is also frequently known to fabricate references. Submissions will be rewarded for their novelty and creativity, and we will check references.

Entries can include graphs and graphics, but these are not essential. 

You can ask an economics teacher for advice on the themes they plan to cover, economic concepts, recommended sources and writing styles.  

Find more information about writing like an economist and where to find useful sources.

The FCDO Next Generation Economics Entry Template (ODT, 6.7 KB) includes a table at the top with information including your name, age and school. Fill this in, remove it from the template and include it in your email to us.  

How to do this: 

1. Fill in the entry template
2. Name your document as John_Smith_U16 NGE Entry or John_Smith_U18 NGE Entry
3. Select and cut completed template
4. Create email
5. Paste completed template into to email
6. Attach entry and email it to [email protected]

If you don’t have an email account 

If you do not have access to email, you can post your letter. Send it this address, and include the information from the table at the top of the template on a separate sheet of paper:  

How we mark entries 

A panel of FCDO economic advisors will read and mark your entry and agree a final shortlist of letters. The FCDO Chief Economist and co-directors of the Hub for Equal Representation at the LSE will review the shortlist and choose the winner and runners up.

The panel will consider these points when marking your entry:

Creativity  

All the competition questions address big economic challenges and have many possible answers. You should think about these questions with an open mind, and present, using evidence, your own ideas.

Economic concepts 

A great entry will use economic concepts to support the arguments it makes.

Using evidence 

Judges will be looking for effective use of evidence. Make sure you present your evidence clearly and explain the source.

Clear and concise writing 

You should structure your argument carefully to make every word count. Write clearly, concisely, and persuasively.

Useful information

These features will make your essay stand out, and are what we will look for when marking essays:

• tell a story: create an engaging and convincing narrative, include an introduction and conclusion 
• focus on economic analysis: discuss economic concepts that are relevant to the question 
• focus on policy solutions: provide answers and solutions to the economic challenges of the question 
• use evidence: use real world examples such as recent policy responses to support your arguments 
• use visuals: use visuals, for example graphs, to help demonstrate your argument 
• evaluate: provide critical analysis of proposed policies and focus on how efficient each policy solution is

You may find it helpful to read through the guidance on [writing like an economist](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-next-generation-economics-competition-writing-like-an-economist to help organise your essay.

2026 Resources

You may find these resources helpful when answering your chosen question.

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Find out more about the competition

If you have any questions about the competition, email [email protected]

Good luck! We look forward to reading your entries.

Your data 

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is a data controller. This means that we are responsible for any of your personal data that we collect or use. We will treat all personal information in accordance with data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018. Visit our website to learn more about how we handle personal information