The WTO has launched a call for young economists to submit papers for the 2023 WTO Essay Prize. The aim of the prize is to promote high-quality research on trade policy and international trade co-operation and to strengthen the relationship between the WTO and the academic community. Essays must be submitted by 2 June 2023.
Last year's winner, Mathilde Muñoz, said: "I would encourage all young economists to take part in this competition. It's incredibly useful to connect research with people responsible for implementing trade policy and to delve into the current problems in world trade and what negotiations are all about."
Prize
The WTO's annual essay prize offers an award of CHF 5,000 to the author(s) of the winning essay. In the case of co-authored work, the prize will be divided equally between the authors. The winning essay will be officially announced at the annual meeting of the European Trade Study Group (ETSG), the largest conference specialising in international trade. The awards ceremony will take place on 14-16 September 2023 at the University of Surrey in the UK. The winning author will receive funding to attend the meeting.
Choose
An Academic Selection Panel is responsible for selecting the winning entry. The panel is made up of:
- Professor Beata Javorcik (University of Oxford)
- Professor Robert Staiger (Dartmouth College)
- Professor Alberto Trejos (INCAE Business School).
Professor Ralph Ossa (Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO Secretariat) is an ex officio member of the panel. Dr Roberta Piermartini (Head of the Trade Cost Analysis Section, WTO) coordinates the work of the selection panel.
Eligibility
The article must address issues related to trade policy and international trade co-operation. The author(s) of the paper(s) must hold or be engaged in the completion of a doctoral degree and, if over 30 years of age, have a maximum of two years of doctoral defence. In the case of co-authored papers, this requirement applies to all authors. In addition, to be considered for the prize, essays must not exceed 15,000 words.
More news about the WTO Essay Prize is available here here.
Previous winners
2022Mathilde Muñoz (James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Wealth and Income Inequality, University of California, Berkeley) 2021: Tomas Dominguez-Iino (New York University) and Swapnika Rachapalli (University of Toronto) 2020: Xian Ding (Harvard University) 2019: Jan Bakker (Oxford University) and Federico Huneeus (Princeton University) 2018: Alonso de Gortari (Harvard University)
2017Meredith Startz (Princeton University) 2016: Matthieu Bellon (Columbia University) 2015: Christoph Boehm (University of Michigan), Aaron Flaaen (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington D.C.) and Nitya Pandalai-Nayar (University of Michigan) 2014: Jonathan Dingel (Columbia University) and Claudia Steinwender (LSE)
2013 : Felix Tintelnot (Princeton University) 2012: Treb Allen (Yale University) 2011: Rafael Dix-Carneiro (University of Maryland) and Kyle Handley (Stanford University) 2010: Dave Donaldson (MIT) and Olena Ivus (Queen's University)
2009Ralph Ossa (University of Chicago). The runner-up was Mostafa Beshkar (University of New Hampshire)
Deadlines
The essays must be submitted by 2nd June 2023. The Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO Secretariat will select eligible articles by 16 June 2023 and the selection panel will make a final decision by 7th July 2023. Only the author(s) of the shortlisted essays will be notified.
Publication
The winning essay may be published in the WTO Working Paper Series. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to endeavour to secure publication of the contribution in a journal.
Submissions
All submissions should be sent to essay.award@wto.org. Submissions must include separate annexes in PDF format:
- The Essay
- the CV of the author(s), specifying (i) current affiliation(s), (ii) the academic institution awarding the doctorate, (iii) the year (or expected year) of the doctorate, (iv) the date of birth of the author(s).
