The 2026–2027 Harvard International Economics Essay Contest (HIEEC) features five contemporary economics topics covering artificial intelligence, globalization, the digital economy, the environment, and inequality, along with an open-ended option that allows students to develop their own research question. This article breaks down each prompt, explores potential approaches, and helps students identify a topic that aligns with their interests and strengths. It also examines the four key judging criteria: analysis, creativity, research, and organization. Understanding these criteria can help students develop a well-structured essay supported by credible evidence and driven by an original perspective.
HIEEC presents five essay prompts exploring artificial intelligence, globalization, the digital economy, the environment, and inequality, alongside an open-ended option that invites students to develop their own economics question. Each prompt addresses an issue at the center of current policy debates. However, students are expected to go beyond describing a problem. They must examine its underlying causes, analyze its economic implications, and evaluate competing approaches to addressing it.
In this article, Aralia takes a closer look at each topic, unpacking the central economic questions, suggesting potential research directions, and highlighting what students should consider when developing a strong HIEEC submission.
1. Overview of HIEEC 2026–2027
The 2026–2027 competition features five official essay prompts and one open-ended question. Participants are required to choose just one prompt, and both age divisions respond to the same set of questions.
Topic | Questions |
Artificial Intelligence | Is AI the primary reason young people are finding it harder to secure their first jobs? |
Globalization | Would limiting the number of international students bring greater economic benefits to host countries? |
Digital Economy | Should a country’s most widely used payment system be free for consumers? |
Environment | Who should be responsible for paying for housing losses in areas at high risk of climate-related damage? |
Inequality | To what extent can substantial minimum wage increases reduce inequality in countries with large informal labor markets? |
Your Own Question | Develop and investigate an original economics question of your choice. |
One thing these prompts have in common is that none has a straightforward right or wrong answer. Each involves multiple economic factors, competing stakeholder interests, and trade-offs in policymaking. Students should therefore avoid assuming that a policy benefiting one group necessarily creates a net benefit for society as a whole.
85% of Aralia Students Have Won Awards in Economics Essay Competitions
2. Analyzing the 2026–2027 Harvard International Economics Essay Contest Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Since late 2022, employment of US 22–25-year-olds in the jobs most exposed to AI has fallen about 13% compared with similar workers in less-exposed jobs. Meanwhile, youth unemployment in the UK rose to around 16% in early 2026, and India’s biggest IT firms have almost stopped adding staff. Is AI the main reason young people are finding it harder to get a first job?
Understanding the Prompt
The most important phrase in this prompt is “the main reason.” Rather than simply discussing how AI affects employment, students must assess whether AI is the primary factor making it harder for young people to enter the workforce, compared with other contributing factors such as economic slowdowns, structural changes across industries, and skills gaps.
Students should examine both sides of AI’s impact on employment. While AI can automate tasks traditionally assigned to entry-level employees, it can also improve productivity and create demand for new skills and occupations. These effects vary across industries and groups of workers, making it important to consider the broader labor market context.
Suggested Approaches:
- Define a specific research scope. For example, focus on entry-level employment in the information technology industry.
- Gather relevant data. Look for statistics on youth employment, hiring trends, and AI adoption across different industries.
- Examine both sides of AI’s impact. Consider how AI may displace workers through automation while also increasing productivity and creating new job opportunities.
- Compare alternative explanations. Investigate other factors, such as weaker market demand, economic uncertainty, or changes in corporate hiring strategies.
- Evaluate AI’s overall role. Determine how significant AI’s contribution is and what conditions might strengthen or weaken its impact on young workers.
Note: When comparing employment data across countries, students should account for differences in age groups, unemployment measurement methods, industry composition, and survey periods. Without these considerations, comparisons may be misleading and lead to unsupported conclusions.
Globalization
Canada, Australia and the UK, which each earn billions from international students, have recently capped their numbers or announced new charges on universities that enroll them. Will these limits leave the host countries better or worse off?
Understanding the Prompt
This prompt asks students to weigh the economic benefits international students bring against the costs they may create for host countries. International students contribute through tuition payments and spending on local goods and services. They may also help address labor shortages by joining the workforce after graduation. However, a growing international student population can put additional pressure on housing, public services, and university finances.
Students should therefore assess the net economic impact of international students while identifying who benefits and who bears the costs, rather than focusing solely on tuition revenue.
Suggested Approaches:
- Choose a specific country or compare two countries. Look at countries with different policies toward international student enrollment.
- Examine the economic contributions. Consider tuition revenue, consumer spending, job creation, and the contribution of international graduates to the labor force.
- Assess the associated costs. Investigate pressures on housing, public services, and universities’ financial dependence on international tuition.
- Identify how benefits and costs are distributed. Consider the differing effects on universities, local businesses, domestic students, and renters.
- Evaluate alternative policy options. Determine whether limiting international student numbers is the most effective approach or whether other policies could address the underlying challenges.
Note: Revenue does not necessarily translate into net economic benefits. Students should distinguish between revenue, contributions to GDP, opportunity costs, and overall economic welfare when evaluating the impact of a policy.
Digital Economy
India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix, both built by public bodies, let people send money instantly by phone and each handle billions of payments a month. UPI is free for both users and shops, while Pix is free for individuals but charges businesses a small fee. Should a country’s everyday payment system be free to use?
Understanding the Prompt
This prompt asks whether a country’s most widely used payment system should be free for its users. Even when transaction fees are eliminated, the system still requires funding to cover operations, maintenance, and security. The central economic question is therefore who should bear these costs and which pricing model would generate the greatest benefit for society.
Low or zero transaction fees can encourage individuals and businesses to adopt a payment system, potentially creating network effects as more users join. However, making all transactions free may also create challenges for long-term financial sustainability. Students should distinguish between making the system free for individuals, businesses, or both, as each approach can produce different economic outcomes.
Suggested Approaches:
- Compare UPI and Pix. Examine their target users, fee structures, and funding mechanisms to understand how different countries approach digital payment systems.
- Analyze how transaction fees influence adoption. Consider how fees affect the payment choices of individuals and businesses.
- Evaluate financial inclusion. Explore how free or low-cost payments affect access to financial services, particularly for low-income individuals and small businesses.
- Consider operational costs and incentives. Assess the resources required to maintain system reliability and security, as well as the economic incentives of participating institutions.
- Propose a suitable pricing or funding model. For example, consider whether basic transactions for individuals could remain free while specialized services operate under a different fee structure.
Note: When comparing payment systems across countries, transaction volume alone is not enough to determine which model is more effective. Population size, digital infrastructure, technology adoption, and consumer payment habits can all influence the results.
Environment
Insurers have pulled back from wildfire- and storm-prone parts of California and Florida, and Australia and the UK run government-backed schemes that hold down premiums in cyclone and flood zones; in many other countries, few homes are insured at all. As climate risks grow, who should pay for damage to homes in the most dangerous places?
Understanding the Prompt
This prompt asks students to determine who should bear the cost of housing damage in areas at high risk of climate-related disasters. The issue sits at the intersection of insurance, environmental economics, and risk allocation.
When potential losses are widespread or difficult to predict, insurance companies may raise premiums or withdraw from certain markets altogether. If premiums fully reflect the underlying risks, lower-income households may no longer be able to afford coverage. On the other hand, overly generous subsidies could weaken incentives to prevent damage or relocate to safer areas, creating a problem known as moral hazard.
Students must therefore weigh affordability, fairness, and incentives to reduce risk, rather than assuming that any single party should bear the entire cost.
Suggested Approaches:
- Identify the responsibilities of different stakeholders. Examine the roles of homeowners, insurance companies, and governments in covering housing losses.
- Compare different funding models. Evaluate the advantages and limitations of private insurance, subsidized insurance, and government-funded assistance.
- Consider the role of prevention. Explore how zoning regulations, building standards, and climate-resilient infrastructure can reduce potential losses.
- Analyze how costs affect households. Consider how different approaches to risk allocation influence household finances and decisions about living in high-risk areas.
- Propose a balanced risk-sharing model. Develop an approach that combines financial protection with incentives to prevent future damage, supported by clear economic reasoning.
Note: Students do not necessarily have to choose between relying entirely on the private market or the government. A shared-responsibility model may be more effective, provided they clearly explain how costs should be allocated and what economic effects the proposed policy would have.
Inequality
Mexico’s minimum wage has more than doubled after inflation since 2016, while over half of Mexican workers have informal jobs outside the tax and labor system. To what extent do big minimum-wage increases reduce inequality in countries where many people work informally?
Understanding the Prompt
The key phrase here is “to what extent,” which requires students to evaluate both the effectiveness and limitations of minimum wage increases as a policy for reducing inequality.
Raising the minimum wage can improve earnings for low-paid workers, but its effectiveness depends on factors such as enforcement, employment effects, and labor market conditions. In countries with large informal economies, many workers may not be directly covered by minimum wage regulations, limiting the policy’s overall impact on inequality. Students should also distinguish between wage inequality and household income inequality. While higher minimum wages may narrow differences in earnings among workers, they do not necessarily address broader income disparities arising from unemployment, household composition, or differences in access to other sources of income.
Suggested Approaches:
- Use Mexico as a case study. Students may also compare it with another country that has a similarly high rate of informal employment.
- Gather relevant economic data. Examine real minimum wage trends, wage distribution, and the proportions of workers employed in the formal and informal sectors.
- Analyze the effects on income and employment. Consider how minimum wage increases affect earnings, hiring decisions, and the movement of workers between formal and informal employment.
- Account for other economic factors. Examine the roles of economic growth, inflation, productivity, and social welfare policies in shaping income inequality.
- Evaluate complementary policies. Consider whether minimum wage increases should be combined with measures to encourage formal employment and strengthen labor law enforcement.
Note: Students should not assume that a change in inequality was caused by minimum wage increases simply because the two occurred during the same period. A stronger analysis considers other contributing factors and acknowledges the limitations of the available data.
Aralia Student Named Among Top 30 Essays at the Harvard International Economics Essay Contest (HIEEC)
Your Own Question
In addition to the five provided topics, HIEEC allows students to develop their own economics question rather than choose from the official prompts. This option is particularly suitable for students with a specific area of interest, but it requires a clear understanding of the issue and the ability to narrow the research scope to fit the 1,500-word limit.
Rather than choosing an overly broad topic such as “How does climate change affect the economy?”, students could develop a more focused question: “Can subsidies for residential solar panel installations help reduce inequality in access to energy among low-income households?” This question identifies a specific policy, target population, and outcome to evaluate, giving students a clearer direction for their research and analysis.
How to Develop Your Own Research Question:
- Choose an area of economics that interests you. Possible fields include employment, education, housing, or the environment.
- Identify a specific economic issue or relationship. Focus on a particular phenomenon, policy, or economic trend worth investigating.
- Frame a debatable, evidence-based question. Your question should allow for different perspectives and be answerable through economic analysis.
- Check the availability of reliable data. Make sure you can access sufficient evidence to support your research within your chosen scope.
- Develop a preliminary argument. Outline your initial position and consider alternative explanations before settling on your final thesis.
Note: A strong research question should be more than original. It needs to address a meaningful economic issue, allow for evidence-based analysis, and create room for independent argumentation.
3. Four Key Criteria for a Standout HIEEC Essay
HIEEC evaluates submissions across four criteria: analysis, creativity, research, and structure, with each category worth up to 5 points. Below is how students can apply each criterion when developing their essays.
Analysis: Explaining Economic Mechanisms
Rather than simply describing an issue, students should explain its underlying causes, economic mechanisms, and broader consequences. For example, when examining payment transaction fees, students should explore how different fee structures influence the decisions of individuals and businesses to use a payment system, while considering other factors that may affect these outcomes.
Creativity: Developing an Original Perspective
Creativity does not necessarily mean choosing an entirely new topic. It can also come from asking a different question or approaching an issue from a less conventional angle. For instance, rather than focusing solely on how many jobs AI might eliminate, students could examine how AI affects young people’s access to entry-level positions where they traditionally gain their first professional experience.
Research: Supporting Arguments with Credible Evidence
Students should draw on statistical data, academic studies, and reports from reputable organizations to substantiate their arguments. Equally important is evaluating the quality of the sources, the scope of the data, and the limitations of the evidence, particularly when distinguishing between correlation and causation.
Structure: Building a Clear and Coherent Argument
With a 1,500-word limit, every part of the essay should serve a clear purpose. Students need a well-defined thesis, logically organized sections, and evidence that directly addresses the research question. They should also engage with meaningful counterarguments rather than simply summarizing information or repeating their initial position.
4. How to Choose the Right HIEEC Essay Topic
A strong essay topic is one that students can explore in depth, develop an original argument around, and support with sufficient evidence to evaluate different perspectives.
Students can use their interests and academic strengths to guide their choice:
- Interested in technology and the labor market? The Artificial Intelligence topic offers an opportunity to explore automation, productivity, changing skill demands, and access to entry-level jobs.
- Interested in education and international policy? The Globalization topic allows students to examine the economic benefits and costs of international students for host countries.
- Interested in finance and technology? The Digital Economy topic is a good fit for exploring payment systems, network effects, transaction fees, and access to financial services.
- Interested in environmental economics and public policy? The Environment topic raises questions about insurance, risk allocation, subsidies, and incentives for loss prevention.
- Interested in development economics and inequality? The Inequality topic provides an opportunity to analyze how minimum wage policies affect labor markets with high rates of informal employment.
- Already have a research question in mind? Your Own Question is a suitable option if students can identify a sufficiently focused economic issue and find reliable data to investigate it.
Before making a final decision, students should try drafting a preliminary thesis for two or three topics. They can then assess whether they can find supporting evidence, identify a meaningful counterargument, and explain the underlying economic mechanisms. A topic may sound interesting at first, but if it only leads to broad or superficial observations, it may not be the strongest choice.
Prepare for HIEEC with Aralia
The Harvard International Economics Essay Contest gives students an opportunity to strengthen their ability to analyze contemporary economic issues, conduct evidence-based research, and communicate academic arguments in English. Successful preparation requires more than an understanding of economics. Students also need to develop skills in formulating research questions, evaluating academic sources, interpreting data, and building arguments they can defend.
Aralia’s experienced instructors guide students throughout the essay development process. Through personalized instruction, students learn how to construct compelling arguments, conduct academic research, and evaluate high-quality sources. They also deepen their understanding of economics under the guidance of instructors who hold PhDs in Economics from leading U.S. universities.
Contact Aralia’s team to learn more about HIEEC preparation classes.
