For Students
Essay Contest
Showcase your ideas on public policy and the role of markets by entering our essay competition. Each year the Institute holds a competition for students, designed to encourage and develop student writers.
- $1,750 in cash prizes awarded each year.
- Special category for high school students only.
- Winning essays may be published in Fraser Institute journals.
STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST 2011
1st Prize: $1,000
2nd Prize: $500
High school category: $250
Topic: Is Capitalism Dead?
When global financial markets collapsed in 2008, many governments around the world responded by increasing spending in the name of “stimulating” their economies. With the world seemingly embracing Keynesian economic thought and a greater role for governments, many politicians, activists, and media commentators declared that “capitalism is dead.”
Two years after governments bailed out failing banks, auto manufacturers and other companies, they are moving to impose new restrictions and regulations on much of the world’s financial sector.
But is capitalism truly dead? Can we ignore the past success and prosperity brought about by policies of low taxation and minimal government? Does failure need to exist for the market to work? Is there a new or old economic system that is better than capitalism, or will capitalism emerge stronger than ever as economies recover from the recession?
Your essay should use historical perspective, empirical evidence, and economic analysis to examine these or other questions regarding the future of capitalism.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 1, 2011Application Rules:
- The contest is open to Canadian and foreign students. A student is defined as someone who attends school in the 2010/2011 school year or is enrolled to attend in 2011/2012.
- Submissions will be considered from secondary and post-secondary (undergraduate and graduate) students in all disciplines. High school students will be considered in a separate category, with a cash prize of $250. Outstanding high school submissions will not be excluded from winning the $500 and $1,000 post-secondary prizes.
- Entry must include a typed essay of 1,000-1,500 words, and a cover sheet including the student’s name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and date of birth. High school students include school and grade. Post-secondary students, include school, major, and year of graduation.
- Entries will be accepted in English and French.
- Entries must include references cited from academic sources. Any academically acceptable referencing style may be used.
- Entries must be submitted online or by mail.
- Entries may only be submitted once. Further submissions will not be accepted.
- Failure to follow these rules may lead to disqualification from the contest.
- Entries will be judged on originality, clear expression of ideas, and understanding of competitive markets.
- All entries become of the property of the Fraser Institute. In addition to receiving cash prizes, winners may have their essays published in Fraser Institute periodicals.
- The deadline is 5pm (Pacific) on June 1st, 2011.
Mail entries to:
Education Programs
Fraser Institute
4th floor, 1770 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6J 3G7
For more information call: 1-800-665-3558, ext. 569
or submit entries online at: www.fraserinstitute.org/education-programs/students/registration-form.aspx
2010 Student Essay Contest Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 Student Essay Contest
1st Prize ($1,000)
Fiscal Policy: Not an Option
By Michael Dial, Maryland Heights, Missouri
Truman State University, B.A. Economics, 2012
2nd Prize winner ($500)
Let the Market Correct Itself: The Unintended Consequences of Monetary Policy
By Joshua Schultz, Ottawa, Ontario
Carleton University, Ph.D. History, 2013
High School Category ($250)
Crises and Responses: How Should Free Societies Respond to Economic Calamities?
By Ryan G. Hauser, Bluffton, Ohio
Home Schooled, 2010
The winning essays can be viewed online this October.
Student Essay Contest 2009
Economic Freedom and Global Prosperity
Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Student Essay Contest
1st Prize ($1,000)
What's Good for Business is Good for the Poor: The Case of India's Labour Laws
By Nikhil Joseph, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Development Studies, 2011
2nd Prize winner ($500)
Property Rights and Credit as Keys to Growth
By Michal Grzadkowski, Guelph, Ontario
University of Waterloo, Honours Mathematics, 2013
High School Category ($250)
Economic Freedom and Poverty
By Mohamed Ilham B Mohamed Salleh,Singapore
Raffles Institution (Junior college), 2009
The winning essays were published in the fall 2009 issue of Canadian Student Review.