The Dorian Fisher Memorial Prize 2022
We are delighted to announce this year’s competition for A- Level and IB students, with a 1st prize of £500 and £250 each for three runners up. There is also a prize of £500 for the school with the highest number of entrants. The top 20 entries will all be invited to a special one-day event at the IEA in the Autumn term.
The competition is open to students studying International Baccalaureate or A Level. Entries should be submitted by email to [email protected]. The email should clearly state your name and school. The final deadline for this year’s competition is Friday 29th July at 23:59:59 2022.
This competition is named after Dorian Fisher, the wife of IEA founder Sir Antony Fisher, who was a long-time supporter of the Institute and its work.
Entries to the competition should contain the following three pieces of work:
- A short essay, of roughly 1,200 words, on one of the following questions:
(a) “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon” (Milton Friedman). How useful is Friedman’s argument for understanding the current inflationary pressures?
(b) At the time the pandemic began most economists thought its effect would on balance be deflationary. The reality is that inflation has surged. How and why did this happen?
(c) Why might rising energy costs be an essential part of a Net Zero policy to address climate change?
- A 500-word answer to one of the following two questions:
(a) In what sense is information an economic good?
(b) What is money in economic thinking and why is it such a difficult concept for economists to deal with?
- A 500-word answer to the following question.
Identify an area of economics that you think should be given more attention in the A-Level or IB syllabus and say why this is so.
FAQS
Are international students allowed to apply?
Yes! You cannot have been in tertiary education (university or equivalent).
Do I have to study A-level Economics to apply?
No, you do not have to study A-level Economics, but you must be in Sixth Form or equivalent (last two years of high school).
How do I submit my entry?
Entries should be submitted by email to [email protected]. Please submit all three questions on ONE word document or PDF.
What style of referencing should I use?
Harvard style referencing is preferred. A guide for doing this can be found here.
Should I include a bibliography? Does the bibliography count towards the word count?
A bibliography is recommended to state your sources. The bibliography does not count towards the word count, but the embedded references do.
Can I include graphs and diagrams?
Yes, graphs and diagrams are allowed, but not compulsory.
How stringent is the word count?
Please stick to the word count provided. We will not stop reading past the word count given, but do not go over by more than 5%.
The 2021 Dorian Fisher Memorial Prize Results
The IEA is delighted to announce the results of the 2021 Dorian Fisher Memorial Prize. The first prize of £500 went to Marcella Impelliziere Licastro from Curitiba International School in Brazil, while the three runner-up prizes of £250 each went to Melinda Zhu (Westminster School), Max Foden-Ellis (Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe), and Adi Mehrotra (The Latymer School).
Among those who just missed out on one of the top prizes were are Yike Grace Li, Syed Mustafa, Laiba Muhammed Ali, Shrey Kakkar, Vimal Kamath, Theo Sivyer, Max Sears, Kayan Intwala, Chloe Fangiono, Laura Dimitrova, Raheel Kapasi, Hannah Shiohara.
The prize of £500 for the school with the highest number of entries went to Queen Elizabeth, Barnet.
Congratulations to all the winners!
The Monetary Policy Essay Prize 2021-22
By the Institute of Economic Affairs, the Institute of International Monetary Research, and the Vinson Centre
“Does inflation matter? And will the current inflation upturn be transitory or not?”
The 2021-2 essay competition is currently closed.
About IIMR
The purpose of the Institute of International Monetary Research is to demonstrate and bring to public attention the strong relationship between the quantity of money on the one hand, and the levels of national income and expenditure on the other. The Institute – which is associated with the University of Buckingham in England – was set up in 2014, in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis (a.k.a., “the Great Recession”) of 2007 – 2009. It is an educational charity.
About IEA
The IEA is the UK’s original free-market think-tank, founded in 1955. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. As part of this, the IEA runs an extensive student outreach programme including internships, summer schools, seminars and competitions. The IEA is an educational charity (No CC 235 351) and independent research institute limited by guarantee. Ideas and policies produced by the Institute are freely available from our website. The Institute is entirely independent of any political party or group, and is entirely funded by voluntary donations from individuals, companies and foundations.
About the Vinson Centre
The Vinson Centre for the public understanding of economics and entrepreneurship is a space for research and knowledge exchange at the University of Buckingham where individuals and teams come together to pursue exciting projects in novel ways.
Former winners
On 3rd March 2022 we ran the final for the fourth year of our Monetary Policy Essay Prize in conjunction with the Institute of International of Monetary Research and the Vinson Centre. The entries were judged on their presentation style, command of the theory, the relevance to the question, as well as overall persuasiveness.
The competition was won by Guillermo Sagnier of Warwick University, who won a prize of £500. Irakli Imnaishvili and Aislin Rees tied for second place.