National Economics Challenge
Micro, macro, and international economics, in the most prestigious high school economics contest in the country.
What it is
The National Economics Challenge is the country's leading high school economics competition, also run by the Council for Economic Education. It covers microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics, and it consistently rewards students who can reason with a model over students who have memorised a glossary.
Teams qualify through online exams and advance through state and regional rounds. Finalists meet in a live national round: a critical thinking case presented to judges, then a quiz-bowl final on the buzzer, where knowing the answer and being first to it are two different skills.
There are two divisions, split by how much economics coursework you have behind you, so a first-year student is not thrown in against AP veterans.
The format, at a glance.
- Team
- Up to four students
- Divisions
- Two, split by economics coursework completed
- Tested on
- Microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics
- Finals format
- A critical thinking round, then a buzzer final
- Season
- Online qualifying in the winter, finals in the spring
How MCBA prepares you
Every member gets the prep below inside the Competition Academy, built around this competition rather than adapted from a generic business course.
Micro and macro as two full tracks
Supply and demand, elasticity, costs and profit maximisation, market structures and externalities on one side. GDP, inflation, unemployment, aggregate demand and supply, fiscal policy, the Fed, trade and exchange rates on the other. Each is a topic in the portal with notes, questions, and progress tracking.
AP-level coursework, in the same place
MCBA's AP study system covers AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics unit by unit. That is the same material the challenge tests, so the studying you do for May is the studying you do for the qualifier.
Buzzer practice, not just knowledge
The quiz bowl buzzer strategy guide and timed drills, because the final round is decided on recall speed and on knowing when to commit to an answer.
Mock rounds against another chapter
Scored mock competitions with a real opponent, which is the only way to find out how your team divides questions under pressure.
Where it sits in the season. Online qualifying runs through the winter, with the national finals in the spring. See the full season timeline.
Also worth a look
Prep for NEC starts the day you join
Members get the study guides, practice exams, flashcards, and mock rounds for every competition on this list, plus a chapter to compete with.