The Australian Economics Olympiad

For the first time, five Year 12 SCEGGS students entered the Australian Economics Olympiad competition (AEO) which is a series of fun, challenging activities aimed at refining and testing high school students’ mastery of economics.  The AEO builds on and tests students’ knowledge and problem-solving abilities in economics and develops their skills in applying economic facts and reasoning to problems in policy, business, and finance.

We congratulate Josephine Robson, Sienna Monahan, Laura Davies, Angelica Philips and Stella Hopkins for their efforts. The first round was a 2 hour multiple choice and short answer test with two students: Laura Davies and Stella Hopkins, progressing to the final round. Some of the questions involved topical issues in the economy such as JobKeeper, fiscal and monetary policy, climate change and natural disasters.

In the second round, students were allocated group members from other schools and had to create a policy case study to enumerate the benefits and drawbacks of each type of permanent migration to Australia as a whole, as seen through an economic lens. Then, they had to advise on changes, if any, to Australia’s migration targets now and over the next five years, based on economic arguments and tools that prioritise growth in the welfare of “Australians”.

This was a challenging task given the timeframe, the need for collaboration across states, and the general nature of the question. Both students were resilient and presented their case study to an audience of economists. Congratulations to Laura Davies, who was part of the winning team based on the quality of their case study Power Point! Their presentation was well-researched, detailed and accurately explained. Here are a few excerpts:

Joanna Hung
Social Sciences Teacher