TL;DR: The Berkeley Economic Review essay contest is an annual writing contest for high schoolers, run by UC Berkeley’s undergraduate economics journal. Jump to eligibility, the prompt, prizes, deadlines, judging, winning essays, or other competitions. Details checked against the journal’s own pages on October 24, 2026. The 2027 prompt isn’t out yet, and the last deadline was March 14, 2026. Never written an economics essay? No idea what to argue? Apply to Horizon to write a research paper of your own.
What is the Berkeley Economic Review essay contest?
The Berkeley Economic Review essay contest is a yearly writing contest for high school students, run by the student editors of UC Berkeley’s undergraduate economics journal. In the latest cycle, you chose one of two prompts, wrote up to 1,000 words, and the winners were published in the journal’s magazine, Equilibrium. A prompt is the question or task your essay has to answer. The journal’s site lists contest pages going back to Fall 2020, so this is not a one-off.
The Berkeley Economic Review (BER) is an undergraduate journal, which means university students, not professors, run it and write most of its articles. It calls itself UC Berkeley’s premier undergraduate, peer-reviewed economics journal. Peer-reviewed means other experts check the work before it’s published. For a high schooler, the draw is a short word limit and a published essay at the end. BER doesn’t publish an acceptance rate, so nobody can tell you your real odds.
Who can enter?
The contest is open worldwide, and no particular grade is required. The test is whether you’ve started university yet.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Grade or age | High school students. No age limit is stated. You stay eligible after graduating high school until you begin undergraduate studies. |
| Citizenship or location | Open worldwide. International students are eligible. |
| Individual or team entry | Individual only. Team essays are not accepted. |
| Entry fee | No fee is listed on the official page. Email BER to confirm. |
| Number of entries allowed | You respond to only one of the two prompts. The page does not say if you can send more than one essay. |
Source: Berkeley Economic Review, re-checked October 24, 2026.
The rule students overlook is the AI policy: BER bans AI tools at every stage, from idea development to writing, and disqualifies essays found to use them. The page also says essays that break the formatting rules may be disqualified, and that entries sent by email instead of the official form won’t be reviewed.
This year’s prompt and word limit
The 2027 prompt isn’t published yet. As of October 24, 2026, the contest page still shows the Spring 2026 prompts and the March 14, 2026 deadline. BER doesn’t say when new prompts will appear. Its recent deadlines fell in mid-March (March 14 in both 2024 and 2026), so expect new prompts before then and check the page every few weeks.
For a sense of what to expect, last cycle offered two options. One asked how AI could change demand for high-, middle-, and low-skill workers in the United States, what that means for wage inequality, and which single policy could help workers adapt. The other asked about the college wage premium, the extra pay degree holders earn: name two structural factors (lasting features of the system, not one-off events) that widened it, then propose and defend a policy and its trade-offs. Those were Spring 2026’s, not this year’s.
Last cycle’s rules: up to 1,000 words, not counting the works cited page or figures. A word limit is the maximum length allowed. Entries used MLA format, 12-point Times New Roman and 1-inch margins, and were submitted as a PDF or Word file through BER’s Google Form. Expect similar rules, but re-check them.
Both prompts read like checklists: analyze, propose, defend, name the trade-offs. Each verb is a job your essay has to do, so underline them before you write a word. A topic is “AI and jobs.” An argument is “Retraining subsidies protect middle-skill workers better than wage insurance would.” Write your argument in one sentence first, then check that it answers every verb.
What do winners get?
As the contest page puts it, selected essays are published in Equilibrium and featured on BER’s website and social media. The page lists no cash prize and no prize amounts, so we won’t suggest any. For most entrants, a published essay with your name on it is worth more than a prize. BER’s FAQ says you can list the contest in the awards section of a college application and mention that your essay appeared in Equilibrium.
Deadlines and key dates
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Prompt release | Spring 2026: posted on the contest page. 2027: not announced. |
| Submission deadline | Spring 2026: March 14, 2026, 11:59 PM PST. 2027: not announced. |
| Judging period | Not published. |
| Results | Spring 2026: winners announced the first week of May. |
Source: Berkeley Economic Review, re-checked October 24, 2026.
Dates move each cycle, so treat last year’s as a planning guide, not a promise. The deadline is in Pacific time, so check what that means where you live.
How are entries judged?
BER doesn’t publish a scoring rubric, the list of things judges score. What follows is our reading of the contest rules, the prompts, and BER’s published essays, not an official checklist.
- You answer every part of the prompt, not just its topic.
- Your claims rest on credible sources, listed on an MLA works cited page. Past prompts asked for evidence from sources such as economic journals and historical data.
- You take a clear position and, where asked, propose and defend one specific policy.
- You name the trade-offs or unintended effects of your own idea.
- The work is entirely yours, with no AI tools used.
- You follow the formatting rules exactly.
What a winning economics essay actually does
BER keeps older winning and runner-up essays online. Two from Spring 2021 are still up: the winner, Shlok Singh, and the runner-up, Adam Hosein, both on work from home. They had a 750-word limit, so you now have more room. Here’s what they and the prompts point to.
First, state your thesis early. A thesis is the one-sentence position your whole essay defends. “AI will widen wage gaps unless retraining targets middle-skill workers” tells a judge where you stand in the first paragraph.
Second, use specific evidence. Hosein cites a Stanford study finding that only 51% of respondents, mostly high-earning office workers, could work efficiently from home. Singh names companies that offered long-term remote plans: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Spotify. A named source and a number beat “studies show.”
Third, answer the strongest counter-argument. Singh accepts that remote work raised productivity, then argues it weakens agglomeration economies, the gains that come from workers being close together so ideas spread. A judge trusts your position more once you’ve shown you can see the best case against it.
Fourth, use economics as a tool, not decoration. In Singh’s essay, agglomeration economies explain why more productive workers at home could still mean slower growth. A concept earns its place when the argument breaks without it.
The most common failure is an essay that describes an issue instead of arguing a position. If you could swap your thesis for “AI is changing jobs” and lose nothing, you’re describing.
Common mistakes
Avoid these six mistakes.
- Going over the word limit. It was 1,000 words last cycle, and the works cited page and figures don’t count.
- Answering the topic instead of the prompt. “AI and jobs” is a topic, not a task.
- Skipping the counter-argument when the prompts ask for trade-offs.
- Missing or inconsistent citations. BER uses MLA and requires a Works Cited page.
- Submitting a school essay without reworking it. It won’t match the prompt or the formatting rules.
- Leaving it to the last week. Research and a second draft take longer than you expect. The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Research Paper in 90 Days shows how to plan the time.
Other economics essay competitions worth entering
Want more than one shot? Check each of these on its own site before you plan around it.
- Harvard International Economics Essay Contest (HIEEC), run by the Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association: prompts have come out in the fall with a January deadline, and recent cycles charged a reading fee.
- John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize: Economics is one of its categories, essays go up to 2,000 words, and in 2026 registration closed March 31 with submissions through May 31.
- LSESU Economics Society Essay Competition: run by the economics society at the London School of Economics. Its last listed deadline was September 1, 2026, so watch for the next one.
For the full list, see Economics Essay Competitions for High School Students. We also cover 15 Essay Contests for High School Students and Awards for High School Students.
Horizon Academic Research Program is a research program, not essay coaching or contest prep. Instead of a 1,000-word contest essay, you work with a PhD scholar or professor on an economics question of your own and finish with a college-level research paper of about 5,000 words. The core skills carry over: building an argument, backing it with credible evidence, and answering the best case against it are exactly what this contest rewards. If you want to go deeper into economics than a contest allows, you can apply to Horizon.
Frequently asked questions
Who can enter the Berkeley Economic Review essay contest?
High school students worldwide who haven’t started university yet. Teams aren’t allowed, and you respond to only one prompt.
What is the word limit?
1,000 words last cycle, not counting the Works Cited page or figures. It can change each cycle, so check the current page.
When is the deadline?
March 14, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST last cycle. The 2027 date isn’t out, and recent deadlines have been in mid-March. Watch the contest page.
Is there an entry fee?
The official page doesn’t mention one. To be sure, email BER at berkeleyeconreview@gmail.com.
Can international students enter?
Yes. BER’s FAQ says it accepts submissions globally.
What do winners receive?
Publication in Equilibrium and a feature on BER’s website and social media. No cash prize is listed.
What should I write about?
Wait for the prompt, then choose one of the options. Read the prompt section and what a winning essay does first.
Is the Berkeley Economic Review a real journal?
Yes. It’s UC Berkeley’s undergraduate, peer-reviewed economics journal, run by Berkeley undergraduates.
Build the argument before the essay
Interested in economics but not sure you have anything to argue yet? The hardest part of an economics essay is having a position worth defending, not the writing. At Horizon, you spend your time on a research question and a paper, which is a different job from a contest essay. Apply to Horizon or join an info session to see how the program works.
Resources
External sources
- Berkeley Economic Review, UC Berkeley
- High School Essay Contest, Berkeley Economic Review
- Spring 2021 High School Contest Winning Essay: Economic Impact of Work From Home, Berkeley Economic Review
- Spring 2021 High School Contest Runner-Up Essay, Berkeley Economic Review
- Competitions, Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association
- Essay Competition, John Locke Institute
- The Essay Competition, LSESU Economics Society