Our 2026 Young Economist of the Year competition saw an outstanding 3,089 young people take part from across the country and even welcomed a first-of-its-kind international entry! The finalists did an amazing job presenting their work in front of a panel of judges and an audience. It was a great day at the KPMG UK London offices on Monday 12 October.

Mayher Tyagi, a student at Ousedale School, impressed our judges with her work on "Should billionaires exist in a well-functioning economy?" Her presentation stood out for pushing the boundaries through her own data analysis. Commenting on her win, Mayher said:

"Participating in this essay competition was a really enjoyable and rewarding experience. It gave me the opportunity to research an economic issue I cared about, hone my statistical analysis skills, and learn how to combine evidence with existing theoretical frameworks to build a cohesive economic argument.

Reaching the top five was something I truly never expected. Meeting a senior Treasury minister and gaining an insight into decision-making at the highest levels of government deepened my appreciation of Britain’s democracy and the opportunities offered by the Royal Economic Society.

On the day of the final, I also got to meet one of my favourite economic journalists, and winning the overall competition was a truly humbling and inspiring experience. Above all, it was wonderful to connect with so many people in economics, including the other incredibly talented finalists."

This year's final also marked a competition first, with students from Wuhan Britain-China School travelling from China to present their work as our first international finalist team, thanks to the support of the World Youth Forum.

Chris Jenkins, Director and Head of Competition Economics at KPMG, said: “We are proud to support the Young Economist of the Year competition, which continues to be a great showcase for the talent of the next generation of economists.  The judges were impressed by the ability of all the finalists to use economic principles and evidence to address some of biggest real-world challenges of our time. Competitions like this can play a key role in encouraging students to engage critically with major issues of the day through an economic lens."

Ahead of the final, our young people were invited to Downing Street to meet Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury. This was followed by a tour and photo opportunities. Thank you to the team at HM Treasury for organising the visit.

Before their presentations at KPMG's office, the I-LEAD team at King's College London helped the young people prepare by providing public speaking practice and a run through of their presentations. Thank you to the I-GIVE mentors for supporting this.

A massive thank you to our sponsor KPMG UK for hosting us on the day and FT Schools for supporting the competition. Thank you also to our markers for investing time in supporting our young people and our judges on the day: Chris Jenkins (KPMG), Isobel Dawson (Econosaurus), Tom Aldred (HM Treasury) and Soumaya Keynes (Financial Times).

About Discover Economics

Discover Economics is a campaign run by the Royal Economic Society. It aims to broaden the appeal of economics to potential students, change their perceptions of economics and economists, and attract more students from under-represented groups.

The campaign targets 15-17 year olds, who are making choices about what post-qualifications to take and what subjects to study at university or through an apprenticeship. By transforming the perceptions of economics among students, particularly those attending schools which don't provide it as a subject, the campaign aims to raise the voices of a more diverse set of economists.

About KPMG

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates across the UK with approximately 17,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a revenue of £2.99 billion in the year ended 30 September 2024.  

KPMG is a global organisation of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. It operates in 143 countries and territories with more than 275,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients. 

About FT Schools

The Financial Times has created a hub for schools and colleges. Teachers in schools around the world with students aged 16-19 years old can get free access to the FT here and request individual FT accounts. Colleges in the UK can also sign up. You can check to see if your institution is already registered. ​ Schools Digest, a weekly newsletter from global education editor Andrew Jack, features student competitions, quizzes and the best of the Financial Times' expert analysis and coverage. All FT subscribers and those on the free schools programme can subscribe here to receive it every Monday at 7am. ​ Click here for more information.