2024 AAEO Team Canada Qualifying Contest
The Australasian Economics Olympiad is a collaborative outreach initiative that brings national high school Economics Olympiad winners from the Asian-Pacific region together in person, in Sydney. Participants compete individually on their knowledge of economics in Round 1, and in Round 2 country teams compete on their proposals to address a pressing economic policy question faced by all countries. Participants share their love of economics while also visiting major Australian economics institutions and engaging in a challenging and exciting competition.
For more info about AAEO:
The Australasian Economics Olympiad
2024 Team Canada Qualifying Contest
First Round
All participants will sit a 2-hour long test consisting of both multiple-choice and short-answer questions covering important concepts in microeconomics and macroeconomics and their applications. The top 10 performers in the First Round from across Canada will be invited to enter the Second Round.
First Round test date: 1 June 2024
First Round test time: 11am
Format: In-person at test centre, 2067 W 41st Vancouver BC. For students not live in Metro Vancouver, an online invigilated exam will be conducted.
Second Round
The 10 top performers from the First Round will work on an economic policy case study and give a presentation within 48 hours of receiving the case material, to be judged by a panel of expert professional economists.
Second Round date: 15 June 2024
Second Round time: The case materials and judging criteria will be sent to students on 13 June 2024 and the recorded presentations will submit on 15 June 2024 .
Format: recorded video presentation
Students’ results in both the First Round and the Second Round of testing will be considered in selecting five national winners of 2024 CEC. 5 national winners of CEC will represent Canada joining 2024 AAEO in person at Sydney. 2024 Australasian Economics Olympiad will be hosted by UNSW (University of New South Wales) Business School from July 3 to July 8. Team Canada will participate in-person, students may be asked to pay for their air tickets and travel insurance from Canada to Sydney but accommodation cost at Sydney will be covered by AAEO sponsors.
Content & Preparation
The contest questions draw on concepts typically covered in Advanced Placement, and first year college level courses on micro, macro economics and statistics/data analysis.
Awards
Students’ results in both the First Round and the Second Round of testing will be considered in selecting a small number of national winners of the qualifying contest.
• The top-performing 10% of participants from the First Round, except for the national winners, will receive a Certificate of High Distinction.
• Participants scoring between the 80th and 90th percentiles in the First Round will receive a Certificate of Distinction.
• Participants scoring between the 50th and 80th percentiles in the First Round will receive a Certificate of Honourable Mention.
Sample Questions
Multiple-choice Questions
1. A natural disaster occurs in Australia. Which of the following elements is LEAST likely to be affected?
a.) Labour productivity
b.) Agricultural supply
c.) Insurance premia
d.) Food prices
e.) Immigration levels
2. The value of the Australian dollar depreciates and the level of inflation rises in the Australian economy. Which of the following best explains this event?
a.) An increase in demand for Australia’s exports
b.) A rise in input costs for local firms
c.) A fall in the size of the budget deficit
d.) An increase in capital inflows into the Australian economy
e.) This event is unlikely to occur
3. Which of the following would most likely worsen the level of income inequality in an economy?
a.) Increased spending on job training programs
b.) An increase in the economy’s tax-free threshold
c.) An increase in the average rate of tariffs
d.) A temporary stimulus payment for welfare recipients
e.) The federal government’s adoption of a contractionary fiscal policy stance
4. The government budgets for surplus but then experiences an unexpected fall in the level of economic activity. Which of the following best describes the resulting outcome?
a.) A rise in taxation revenue leading to a larger budget surplus
b.) A rise in taxation revenue leaving to a smaller budget surplus
c.) A fall in taxation revenue leading to a smaller budget surplus
d.) A fall in taxation revenue leading to an unsustainable budget deficit
e.) No change to taxation revenue or the expected budget balance
Open Questions
1. The Australian economy is experiencing a broad-based rise in the level of inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is considering a (further) rise in the level of the cash rate. Explain how this possible move by the RBA would address the level of inflation in the economy and any potential effects on the value of the Australian dollar.
2. The Australian government is considering ways to increase the adoption of electric vehicles in order to reduce the nation’s fossil fuel consumption. You have been asked to comment on the use of a subsidy to improve the affordability of these vehicles. Evaluate this strategy in the context of achieving the government’s goals, being sure to address the question of opportunity cost and the potential positive and negative externalities relevant to this policy decision.
Registration:
To register for the contest, please email the answers to the following questions to frontdesk@peiqiaoedu.ca.
The registration fee for each student is $25 CAD, please e-transfer the fee to the above email address with student's name.
1. Legal name:
2. School, city, province:
3. Grade:
4. AP micro/macro score:
5. AP statistics score:
6. Any awards achieved in other competitions in the filed of Math/Economics/Business case analysis: