Marshall Society Essay Competition 2026

We are delighted to announce that the Marshall Society Essay Competition is now open!

This year’s competition features 6 essay titles, giving students the opportunity to explore important and thought-provoking questions in economics.

  1. Is it fair to always call tariffs ‘bad’? Explore this in both a historical context and by using an example from recent years.
  2. To what extent can central banks stabilise their economy in the face of external energy shocks? Use both theory and empirical evidence.
  3. How far can Britain’s economic recovery in the 1930s be credited to Britain leaving the gold standard in September 1931?
  4. Evaluate Andy Burnham’s economic and business policies as Mayor of Greater Manchester and discuss whether these should be replicated in the rest of the UK.
  5. Analyse the statement ‘the stock market is not the economy’. Are stock markets a good indicator of a country’s economic growth?
  6. Can economics be regarded as its own discipline? To what extent is there a unique economic methodology?

Open to all students who have not yet begun their university studies, the competition is a chance to showcase your analytical thinking, research and essay-writing skills.

🏆 Winning essays will receive prizes, and selected entries will be featured in The Dismal Scientist, the Marshall Society’s magazine.

📅 Deadline to submit: 30th August 2026 via the following form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLinJSk3eFHZdrctjA9j8XiF5fn-ZkfnFgTlH24khej2p5fA/viewform?usp=publish-editor

🔗 For more important information, see the following document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mvv88C4Auy2NMnLq0X9dwWxvi_BEbUyVzBXMluYLIdQ/edit?tab=t.0

A huge thank you to our sponsor, Cambridge Global Connect, for supporting this year’s competition. Cambridge Global Connect is a subsidiary of Oxbridge Global Connect, an award-winning education technology platform and research thinktank founded at the University of Cambridge that offers premier tutoring services.

📖 For more premier tutoring services, visit: https://www.camgc-edu.com/

We can’t wait to read your essays—best of luck!