The four themes.
Each cycle, HIEEC sets four prompts and you answer one. Here are the 2025–26 themes, what they ask, and how to find an angle you can actually defend.
Four prompts, you choose one
HIEEC releases four prompts at the start of each cycle, drawn from across economics — environment, inequality, labour, and finance — and you write a single essay in response to one of them. The prompts are rewritten every year, so the exact wording below belongs to the 2025–26 cycle; treat it as a guide to the kind of question HIEEC asks, and check HUEA for the current cycle’s prompts.
The themes are broad on purpose. A good entry does not try to cover the whole topic in 1,500 words — it narrows the prompt to one specific, arguable question and answers that well.
The prompts in detail
Carbon-offset markets
How can governments and firms price and cut emissions credibly — and where do carbon-offset markets and nature-based solutions help or fall short?
A strong angle: pick one mechanism (e.g. offset quality, additionality) and argue whether it actually reduces emissions.
UBI & data dividends
Are universal basic income or “data dividends” sensible responses to technological disruption and concentrated economic gains?
A strong angle: compare one policy against a clear alternative on a single metric, such as work incentives or funding.
Remote & hybrid work
What are the economic implications of remote and hybrid work for productivity, cities, wages, and the skills students should build?
A strong angle: focus on one channel — productivity, agglomeration, or inequality — rather than all at once.
Tokenised public finance
Do tokenised sovereign bonds and blockchain-based public finance offer real gains — and what risks would policymakers have to manage?
A strong angle: weigh one concrete benefit (settlement, access) against one concrete risk (stability, custody).
How to turn a theme into an essay
Narrow it
Turn the broad theme into one specific question you can answer in 1,500 words.
Take a position
State a clear, arguable thesis early. The reader should know your claim by the first page.
Bring evidence
Support the claim with data or theory, cited honestly, and address the best objection.
Cut & revise
The word limit is a feature. Remove everything that does not advance the argument.
Prompts change every cycle
The four themes above are from the 2025–26 cycle. Earlier cycles used different prompts — recent contests have, for example, asked about carbon and the economy under the environment theme. Because the wording and focus are rewritten each year, do not assume a past prompt will return. When the next cycle opens, we will update this page; for the authoritative list, always check HUEA.
Stuck on which prompt to pick?
Tell us what you like reading about and we’ll help you find the theme where you can say something specific.