Vancouver, BC - Students from St. Catharines, Calgary and Burnaby have won the Fraser Institute's annual student essay contest for their papers on how to eliminate world poverty.

The Institute's annual essay contest recognizes outstanding student writers from around the world and provides them with the opportunity to share their ideas on public policy and the role of markets. The three winners share $1,750 in cash prizes.

This year's topic, "Eliminating World Poverty: What is the best approach?" attracted more than 215 entries from university and high school students across Canada, the United States, and around the world. The contest was sponsored by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy.

The wining essays were selected by a panel of trade policy experts and university and college instructors. The entries were judged on several criteria including understanding of competitive markets, originality of ideas, understanding of the topic, and clear expression of ideas.

2007 Student Essay Contest Winners

1st Place ($1,000)
An Ignoble Myth: The Dangerous Dogma of Foreign Aid
by Joel Fleming, St. Catharines, Ontario
Wilfred Laurier University, Political Science, 2008

"Joel Fleming's well researched paper provides strong economic analysis and clearly demonstrates how economic growth and freedom can help to reduce extreme global poverty," said Vanessa Schneider, Director of Student Programs at The Fraser Institute.

2nd Place ($500)
Why Bono Should Keep His Day Job: The Fallacy of Foreign Aid
by Gareth Lewis, Calgary, Alberta
University of British Columbia, International Relations, 2007

"This paper clearly illustrates the importance of property rights when addressing the issue of global poverty," said Schneider.

Patrick Sean O'Sullivan, a business student from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, received the Honourable Mention recognition in the post-secondary category for his essay, "This Is Not About Them: The Munchausen Economics of the West and its Developing-World Proxies."

1st Place High School Category ($250)
Foreign Aid Fails the Developing World: Economic Freedom is the Solution
by Amanda Javorsky, Burnaby, BC
Burnaby Mountain Secondary School, Grade 11.

"Amanda Javorsky's essay shows a remarkable understanding of economics and is successful in displaying the failures of foreign aid," said Schneider.

David Hu, a Grade 10 student at Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts received the Honourable Mention recognition in the high school category for his essay, "Ending Poverty through Economic Development."

The winning essays will be published in upcoming issues of Canadian Student Review and are also available on the Students & Learning section of our website. Contest details for the 2008 essay competition will be announced in the fall.