[November 12, 2024] –Certell, Inc., an Indiana-based education nonprofit that provides free online textbooks and other educational materials to American secondary-school teachers and students, has been named the Official U.S. Partner of the International Economics Olympiad and official sponsor of the United States Economics Olympiad.

“For the first time, U.S. students interested in economics will have the opportunity to compete against students from nearly two-dozen countries in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa in the International Economics Olympiad in Athens, Greece,” birthplace of the Olympics, Certell President Richard N. Lorenc said. “We urge them to compete … and win.”

The contest is open to all U.S. secondary-school students from ages 14 to 20, regardless of whether they have formally studied economics. Globally, nearly 80,000 students participated in the most recent competition during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Five American students will earn the right to compete in the international contest next fall, winning all-expenses paid trips to Athens. To get there, the students will first have to compete against others in their schools and in the U.S. nationals. School rounds will be held in February 2025; the U.S. nationals in April 2025.

All of the U.S. contests will be held online during the 2024-25 academic year, with in-person competition beginning with the 2025-26 school year. 

Interested teachers, parents, academic coaches and other possible student sponsors can find registration and competition details at www.economicsolympiad.us. Registration is now open and ends Jan. 31, 2025. 

COMBATING ECONOMIC ILLITERACY

The goal of the U.S. competition is to spur economic and financial literacy.

Economist Per Bylund, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, has accurately pointed out that many of the problems facing America are “due to widespread economic illiteracy among people in general. Politicians meet little-to-no resistance and are rarely questioned as they suggest economically disastrous policies … because we, as a population, do not know better.”

One of the main reasons, he suggests, is because “we have an educational system that takes practically everyone through 12, if not 16, years of schooling, but leaves almost everyone economically illiterate.” 

Currently, just 27 states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming) and the District of Columbia require students to study economics in order to graduate from high school, according to the Education Commission of the States. Only 18 states require standalone economics classes; in the other states requiring economics for graduation, it’s incorporated into social studies.

CONTEST BACKGROUND

The Economics Olympiad, also known as the International Economics Olympiad, is a global competition designed to test students’ knowledge of economics and financial literacy. Through multiple rounds of competition, participants address complex problems, analyze economic trends, and propose solutions to challenges. The competition includes questions on economic principles and history, microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, contemporary economic issues and financial literacy.

Started in the Czech Republic after the collapse of Soviet communism, the Economics Olympiad now includes student competitors from Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, China, Czech Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Many of them are former communist countries.

The winner of the 2023-2024 competition was an 18-year-old student from Poland. First, second and third place winners received cash prizes of 1,500, 1,000 and 500 Euros respectively.