WTO 2023 Essay Award for Young Economists

Published: 05 Feb 2023

The WTO has issued a call for young economists to submit papers for the 2023 WTO Essay Award. The aim of the award is to promote high-quality research on trade policy and international trade cooperation and to reinforce the relationship between the WTO and the academic community. 

WTO Essay Award

Benefits of WTO Essay Award

• The annual WTO Essay Award provides a prize of CHF 5,000 to the author(s) of the winning essay.
• In the case of a co-authored paper, the prize will be equally divided among the authors.
• The winning paper will be officially announced at the annual meeting of the European Trade Study Group (ETSG), the largest conference specializing in international trade.
• The award ceremony will take place on 14-16 September 2023 at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. The winning author will receive funding to attend the meeting.

Requirements for WTO Essay Award

• The paper must address issues related to trade policy and international trade cooperation. 
• The author(s) of the paper must possess or be engaged in the completion of a PhD degree and, if over 30 years of age, be no more than two years past a PhD defense.
• In the case of co-authored papers, this requirement shall apply to all authors. In addition, to be considered for the award, essays cannot exceed 15,000 words.

More news on the WTO Essay Award is available here.

Selection Process

An Academic Selection Panel is responsible for the selection of the winning paper. The panel comprises: 

• Professor Beata Javorcik (University of Oxford)
• Professor Robert Staiger (Dartmouth College)
• Professor Alberto Trejos (INCAE Business School).

Professor Ralph Ossa (Director, Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO Secretariat) is ex officio member of the panel. Dr Roberta Piermartini (Chief, Trade Cost Analysis Section, WTO) coordinates the work of the selection panel.

Application Documents

Submissions should include as separate attachments in PDF format:

1. the essay
2. the CV of the author(s), specifying (i) current affiliation(s), (ii) the academic institution awarding the PhD, (iii) the year (or the expected year) of the PhD, (iv) the date of birth of the author(s).

Application Deadline

How to Apply