National Economics Challenge

Name: National Economics Challenge
Location: United States

The only national economics competition for United States high school students, run in two divisions.

Run by Council for Economic Education

Eligible grades: High school. Students must be enrolled in a public high school, private high school, or home-based high school. Middle school students cannot compete.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Official divisions: Two divisions by coursework, not grade: David Ricardo for students with no more than one general economics course, and Adam Smith for those in AP, IB or honours economics. Home-schooled students must compete in Adam Smith regardless of coursework, and a student may enter David Ricardo only once.
Based on the organiser's own divisions.
Eligible ages: Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.
CEE sets eligibility by school level and coursework, not age.
Individual or team: Team · Teams of 3 to 4 students from the same public or private school, community organisation, club or after-school programme, with a coach affiliated to that school or programme. Each student may be on only one team. If a member drops out you may substitute or continue with three.
Where it runs: Online and in person · United States
Entry cost: Free to enterSet by state councils; not published nationally. Some states run it at no cost to schools.
Registration deadline: Set locally, not published as a single national date Set by each state, not nationally, and they vary. As an example of the shape, Arkansas required teams registered and tested by 20 February for its state round. National Finals teams have historically been announced by around 1 May and must confirm participation via an online form. Find your state coordinator's dates.
Competition dates: Online state rounds in the spring, national semifinal and final in late spring.
Difficulty: CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
Prizes: Cash prizes for national finalistsCash prizes are awarded at the national level; amounts were not confirmed on the pages checked.

What National Economics Challenge is

The National Economics Challenge is a team competition in microeconomics, macroeconomics and international economics, run by the Council for Economic Education. Teams of up to four students compete online in state rounds, and qualifying teams advance to a national semifinal and then a live final that includes a quiz-bowl style critical thinking round. There are two divisions, one for students who have taken an advanced economics course and one for those who have not, which keeps it accessible.

How the competition works

A qualifying round of multiple-choice questions under time pressure, for example 30 questions in 35 minutes with no pausing or skipping and no outside assistance, then critical thinking and quiz bowl rounds at higher levels. Topics cover micro and macro principles and the world economy.

Eligibility notes

Division placement depends on the economics coursework team members have taken. Teams must be registered by a teacher or coach.

How to register

Find a teacher willing to coach and register the team. Teams cannot self-register.
Assemble up to four students and determine your division based on the economics coursework members have taken.
Register through the Council for Economic Education site during the registration window.
Take the online exams in microeconomics, macroeconomics and international economics.

What skills you need

Recommended resources

Ordered by when to use them, not by importance. The order is Compete's recommendation; the resources themselves come from the organiser and from the audit. Nothing here is required unless the organiser says so on its own site.

Start here

The organiser's own page. Read this before anything else: it is the only source that is definitive about rules.

National Economics Challenge official page Official · free
Divisions, registration, rules and past questions.

Use this next

Structured teaching, best once you know what the competition asks for.

EconEdLink Course · free
Free economics lessons and resources from the Council for Economic Education, the same body that runs the competition.
Marginal Revolution University Course · free
Free university-level economics video courses, well matched to the Adam Smith division syllabus.

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Past competition questions
Sample and past questions published by the Council for Economic Education.

Frequently asked questions

Which division should my team enter?

The David Ricardo division is for students who have not taken Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or honours economics; the Adam Smith division is for those who have. Entering the wrong division is a rules violation, so check the current definitions carefully.

Does it cost anything?

The competition itself is free to enter, and travel for national finalists has historically been covered. Confirm the current arrangements on the official site.

Reviews, tips and resources from other students

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Something out of date?

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Verification

Not yet re-checked 2026-08-29

The two-division structure, team size and online-then-live format follow the competition's long-standing published description. Current registration dates, prize amounts and travel arrangements were not confirmed during the last check.

Not confirmed for this cycle: Who can enter, Registration deadline, Competition dates, Entry cost, Individual or team, Prizes, How to register. Check these on the official site.

Source: the organiser's own site. No individual fact on this page has been re-checked against it for the current cycle.

Cycle checked: 2026-27 (2025 rules PDF is the most recent first-party rules found)

Looked for and not found: ages, competition_dates, deadline, entry_fee, prizes. These are shown as not confirmed rather than estimated.

Show what was checked, field by field (8)

Each row is one fact on this page, the organiser page it was checked against, and the date it was checked. Where a source is not the organiser's own site, the row says so: that is a weaker source and the fact should be treated as less certain.

Field	Checked	Source
Competition dates	2026-09-02	not recorded
Registration deadline	2026-09-02	not recorded
Entry cost	2026-09-02	not recorded
Format	2026-09-02	https://econchallenge.unl.edu/Arkansas/Rules
Prizes	2026-09-02	not recorded
How you qualify	2026-09-02	https://econchallenge.unl.edu/District%20of%20Columbia/Rules
How to register	2026-09-02	https://econchallenge.unl.edu/District%20of%20Columbia/Rules
Team size	2026-09-02	https://www.councilforeconed.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/FAQs1.pdf

How Compete verifies listings

Rules and dates change. Confirm everything on the official site before you rely on it.

At a glance

CategoryBusiness
Grades9 to 12
CostFree to enter
FormatTeam
LocationBoth
Difficulty3 of 5
Top prize$4,000

Preparation guide

There is no step-by-step preparation guide for this competition yet. Writing one would mean inventing a syllabus the organiser has not published, and this directory does not do that. What is on this page instead comes from the organiser: the format, what the entry actually is, and the resources above.

37 of 128 competitions here have a full guide. See which ones.

How hard is this really?

Middle of the road. Expect to put real work in, but nothing here assumes you have competed before.

Knowledge needed Moderate difficulty rated 3 of 5
Time commitment High format suggests a season
Competition intensity High has qualifying rounds before the final; team coordination on top of the work itself
Beginner friendliness Very high free to enter, so a first attempt costs nothing but time; past materials are published, so you can see the standard before entering; runs divisions, so beginners compete against peers

Compete's assessment, worked out from the competition's format, cost, published materials and difficulty. Organisers do not publish difficulty ratings, so this is our reading rather than theirs.

Should I enter this one?

Best suited to

Students who meet the eligibility above: high school. students must be enrolled in a public high school, private high school, or home-based high school. middle school students cannot compete.
Students who can commit to a team, since this cannot be entered alone.
Anyone put off by entry fees. This one is free to enter.

Probably not for you if

You are looking for something you can enter this month. A team event with qualifying rounds. Expect regular meetings across several months, plus travel to at least one round.
You have nobody to team up with and no club to join.
You are outside United States.

Expected preparation

Moderate preparation · A season

A team event with qualifying rounds. Expect regular meetings across several months, plus travel to at least one round.

Our estimate, from: rated 3 of 5 for difficulty; team event with multiple qualifying rounds. No organiser publishes a time figure.

Compare with

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Business Professionals of America difficulty 2 of 5

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Key facts

What National Economics Challenge is

How the competition works

Eligibility notes

How to register

What skills you need

Recommended resources

Start here

Use this next

Past problems and materials

Frequently asked questions

Reviews, tips and resources from other students

Something out of date?

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