Published: 09.11.2020

Latvijas Banka has announced its annual Competition of Student Scientific Research Papers to promote research and analysis of Latvia's and euro area's macroeconomic issues through involvement of the most talented young economists.

Latvijas Banka organises the competition already for the 19th time. Participation is open to the citizens and non-citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as well as foreigners who at the time of the competition are registered as students of higher education institutions accredited as such in the Baltic States, enrolled in Bachelor's or Master's degree programmes, as well as to the students from the Baltic States studying abroad of the Baltic States studying abroad.

The submitted papers shall discuss subjects currently relevant for the Baltic and euro area economies (suggestions for topics and a list of the previous years’ award-winning papers are available on the website Macroeconomics.lv).

The period for the submission of the competition papers to Latvijas Banka is from 17 May to 31 May 2021. The competition papers will be evaluated by a committee of economists set up by Latvijas Banka. The awarded papers will be published on the website macroeconomics.lv and their authors will receive prizes (incl. EUR 2000 to the Excellence Award winner, EUR 1500 to the first-place winner, EUR 1250 to the two second-place winners each and EUR 1000 to the three third-place winners each).

23 papers were submitted for the Competition of Student Scientific Research Papers organised in the previous academic year of 2019/2020. The authors of the papers were 40 students from seven higher education institutions in Latvia and abroad. No first prize was awarded in the competition. Two second prizes were awarded to the following students: Sorina-Sofia Solonaru and Iuliana Tornea, the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, for the scientific research paper "You get what you pay for! Evidence on how research unbundling under MiFID II impacts the quality of stock analyst forecasts" and Krišjānis Oskerko and Toms Henšelis, the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, for their paper "Returns to skills in Latvia: What can we learn from job adverts?".

The Regulation for the competition, the papers of the previous prize-winners and other materials are available in www.macroeconomics.lv section FOR STUDENTS. Oļegs Krasnopjorovs and Kārlis Vilerts, Economists at Latvijas Banka, describe the competition process and the preconditions for writing an excellent graduation paper: https://www.makroekonomika.lv/atzinas-no-latvijas-bankas-diplomdarbu-konkursa-2016, https://www.makroekonomika.lv/atzinas-no-latvijas-bankas-diplomdarbu-konkursa-2017, https://www.makroekonomika.lv/latvijas-bankas-diplomdarbu-konkursa-atzinas-2018, https://www.makroekonomika.lv/latvijas-bankas-diplomdarbu-konkursa-atzinas-2019 and https://www.makroekonomika.lv/atskanas-no-2020-gada-studentu-zinatniski-petniecisko-darbu-konkursa.

Being aware of the impact of economic literacy on the quality of life and economic growth, Latvijas Banka contributes systemic support to economic education. Latvijas Banka provides teachers of social sciences as well as schoolchildren, students and other interested parties with various opportunities to learn and understand the economic relationships. In partnership with other institutions involved in implementing the National Strategy for Financial Literacy in Latvia for 2014–2020, Latvijas Banka promotes the development of a financially and economically literate society, where people use their knowledge to ensure their financial sustainability, enhance their competitiveness in the labour market and increase their well-being, thus also providing preconditions for the overall development of the public at large.

 The digital teaching aid "My Economics", created as a joint effort between Latvia's leading education experts and Latvijas Banka's economists, will soon be available to schools. The teaching aid will provide students with a more comprehensive and up-to-date view on the economic issues discussed within the framework of the social and civil society subjects of the general education curriculum. "My Economics" will provide the opportunity to view social, public administration, international relations and business issues through an economics lens, thus giving a more comprehensive insight into various processes on individual, corporate, national and global levels. "My Economics" includes both economic theory and its real-life applications as well as exercises to help reinforce the learning process. In light of the new "School 2030" or the competency-based approach which takes a holistic view of the world and promotes an interdisciplinary approach, this teaching aid will help teachers to incorporate economic subjects into other disciplines of the curriculum.