Federal Reserve Bank of New York's High School Fed Challenge

The High School Fed Challenge is an educational program that aims to encourage students in grades 9 – 12 to learn more about economics and promote interest in economics as a subject for study and the basis for a career. Previous study of economics is not required – only intellectual curiosity and interest in exploring an economic theme.

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The High School Fed Challenge designates the annual competition theme. Entering teams may select any topic that explicitly relates to this theme for academic research, which will be submitted for evaluation to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Federal Reserve personnel select submissions to be published in the Journal of Future Economists. In addition to gaining broader exposure to the field of economics, all entering school teams will receive recognition in the Journal of Future Economists.

• Participating high schools must be either 
  • 1) located in one of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts1 serving the United States, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or 
  • 2) located outside of the United States and operating as a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school.
• Eligible high school students must be enrolled in one of grades 9 – 12 in the participating high school at the time of registration. 
• Each eligible high school may register one team for the competition and each registered team can submit one entry for the competition each year. 
  • Multiple entries from one school may result in disqualification of all school entries from the competition.
  • The principal of the school must certify the faculty advisor for the school’s official team and entry through submission of the Principal Acknowledgement form, which is due at registration

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• Registration Deadline: February 15th, 2025
• Paper Submission Deadline: March 17th, 2025

• To enter the competition, school teams must submit one podcast script on the economic theme designated for that year’s competition. o Each script must be between 1,500 – 2,500 words (3 – 5 pages single spaced or 6 – 10 pages double spaced) exclusive of citations 
  • Pages will be 8.5 x 11” A4, portrait o Margins must be one inch on all sides o Font must be 12-point font and pages should be numbered consecutively 
  • Entries will be accepted in English or Spanish • The Challenge selects the economic theme for the competition. The topic of the entry submitted must relate explicitly to the selected economic theme for the academic year. 
• Only written entries will be accepted and considered for the competition. Recordings of the podcast or other types of submissions will not be considered in the evaluation process. 
• Entries must include academic research, which may be primary and/or secondary research, qualitative and/or quantitative. The topic and content may be determined by the advisor(s) and student team if it explicitly relates to the economic theme. 
• The entry must include: 
  • Title page 
  • The 1,500 – 2,500-word entry (Citations/Bibliography are excluded from the word count) 
  • Citations/Bibliography 
• The title page must include the title of the entry, the competing school name and location (city, state or commonwealth/territory), first and last names of student authors, first and last name(s) of faculty advisor(s), the total word count of the entry, and the name and edition of the selected style guide for citations. 
  • If an entry includes a fictitious interview with a public figure or actual person who is not a team member, the disclaimer below must be included on the title page. 
    • The interview portrayed in this submission is a product of the authors’ imagination. While the interview may reference actual people, the subject matter and language attributed to those people is entirely fictitious.
• Citations/Bibliography must follow a research style guide, such as APA, Chicago Style, or MLA Handbook. The team may choose its own style guide, and must do the following: 
  • List the style guide and edition used on the title page 
  • Consistently apply the selected style throughout the script and citations/bibliography 
• Entries must be submitted in PDF format and submitted online through completion of the required fields and uploads in the submission form on or before 11:59PM on the posted submission deadline date, as date/time stamped upon receipt in the submission system. 
• The online submission form will be emailed to each registered team’s advisor(s) and one team advisor must upload the team’s entry in PDF format. 
• Entries received after the deadline of 11:59PM on the submission deadline date may not be accepted for evaluation. 

• Notification of Publication Decision: May 15th, 2025