The Council for Economic Education (CEE) today announced the return of the highly anticipated National Economics Challenge (NEC) for 2025. The National Economics Challenge is the nation’s foremost competition for high school students that tests their mastery of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and global economics. Over 8,000 students across the country are expected to showcase their knowledge of economics while competing for national recognition and prizes.
Regional and state competitions take place in early 2025, with participants from across the U.S. forming teams and working with coaches in a series of rigorous rounds. The National Semi-Finals will be held online April 21–24, 2025, leading up to the Finals—a critical-thinking round, in which the team develops and presents an analysis for a current economic problem; and a final quiz bowl to determine the national champion.
In addition to cash prizes being awarded to the NEC finalists, the winning team will be invited to do an economics analysis project and present their work to a senior economist at Morgan Stanley – the NEC’s national corporate partner for 2025. Fostering a curiosity in the principles of economics in the next generation of Americans is vital to achieving financial equity and the NEC is core to CEE’s work to diversify the student population that engages deeply with economics.
The 2025 competition Finals will be held May 28-30 in Atlanta, GA, at the headquarters for VOYA Financial. The competition features two divisions: the David Ricardo Division for first-time participants and the Adam Smith Division for returning and honors competitors.
“Each year, we see students rise to the occasion, demonstrating remarkable understanding and application of economic concepts,” said Chris Caltabiano, Chief Program Officer at the Council for Economic Education. “The NEC not only deepens economic literacy and builds an informed citizenry but also develops essential career skills – critical thinking, teamwork, and presentation skills – while beginning to build their professional network.”
