Scoring basis and methodology · WYE international economics essay competition comparison
WYE Essay Prize · Competition comparison · Scoring basis

Scoring basis and methodology

Every number in the comparison table is a judgement, and a judgement can be contested. This page sets out where those numbers come from: what each of the five dimensions measures, what 1 through 5 stand for, which materials the judgement rests on, and why each competition holds the score it does.

This is not a rating, and not a ranking. WYE is one of the competitions in the table, and a competitor scoring its peers has an obvious interest in the result. Our answer is to publish every criterion, to leave WYE's own lowest score in the table, and to accept corrections.

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What the five dimensions measure

The first four measure what a competition puts at the centre of judging — not how good its entrants are. The fifth measures scale, which says nothing about quality. All five are judged against the same 1–5 steps.

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Where the material comes from

USED
Each competition's own rules, prompt and judging pages for the current cycle
Winner lists, winning entries and annual reviews published by the organisers themselves
Entry numbers, participating countries and similar figures the organisers disclose
Published submission requirements (word limits, citation style, integrity declarations, oral defence arrangements)
NOT USED
“Competition prestige” ratings from admissions consultancies, test-prep companies or commercial league tables
Personal accounts on social platforms and unattributed inside information
Claims about admissions outcomes — no competition can demonstrate that causal link
Private correspondence between WYE and other organisers

Where an organiser has not published something, we do not speculate: the item is treated as undisclosed, given the middle step of 3, and the gap is stated in that cell's scoring basis. For entry numbers, if a specific figure has never been disclosed we estimate the order of magnitude from checkable public traces — the length of the winner list, the number of participating countries, the number of prompt groups — and use it only to compare relative size.

The basis for every score, competition by competition

Each cell states the specific reason for that score. Eligibility, format and dates change every year; the rules published by each competition for the current cycle are the authority.

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Known limits

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Tell us if a fact is wrong

If you organise, judge or have entered one of these competitions and a score or description does not match the official rules, write to us with a link to the official page. We will check it, update the table, and record the change on this page.

Competition@worldyoungeconomist.org →

WYE is not affiliated with, partnered with or endorsed by any other organisation in this table, and does not handle entry to any of them. Official material for this page was consulted in August 2026; the next review follows the publication of each competition's next set of rules.