Economics Olympiad

Economic and financial literacy is a long-ignored issue for many Slovaks, the number of people in debt being its witness. There isn’t enough time dedicated to this subject on high schools, as there is a bit of everything (philosophy, sociology, law, economics) and subsequently, not enough of anything. While competitions in mathematics, physics, or even biology celebrate years of success, there wasn’t an economic competition until recently. We believe that this competition can help young people to understand basic economic concepts and questions, and thus make their lives more informed and successful.

The Economics Olympiad is a nationwide competition in economics and finance, which is intended for high school students. It contributes to the further development of key abilities and knowledge of students in this field. Questions in the contest and the concept of Economics Olympiad are proposed jointly by economists and experts from Institute INESS, National Bank of Slovakia, Slovak Economic Association, Faculty of Economics UMB in Banská Bystrica, University of Economics in Bratislava, Institute of Economic Education (INEV) and Czech National Bank.

The goal of the Economics Olympiad is to search for talented future economists among Slovak high school students and support them in their further development. The nationwide economic contest will connect them with economists and experts, who can inspire and support them in their study and carrier paths. The Olympiad also helps to improve economic and financial literacy among young Slovaks, to arm them against populist promises and help them to understand basic economic concepts, thus to improve their live. Contestants have the opportunity to be accepted for university studies of chosen partner universities without application exams, in addition they may win internships and valuable prizes, which have been provided to the Economics Olympiad by its partners.

The Economics Olympiad is divided in three rounds: school round, regional round and national finals. Dates of particular rounds are stated in EO’s schedule and are mandatory.

The competitor begins with the school round, from which, if successful, he or she proceeds to the regional round and then to the national finals (this procedure is mandatory and can’t be avoided or shortened). During individual rounds contestants have to solve a test with both closed and open-ended questions.

Starting 2019, the Economics Olympiad became an international competition in economics. The first international finals will be held in September 2019 in Prague, where students from Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary will gather to compare their economic knowledge.