Guidelines
Brief
Current university students lack pathways in which they can apply their economic education and policy ideas, save a few class projects or reports. While these experiences do give students an excellent chance to apply their education, they are often short-term and have little focus on the economic situation in Hong Kong. We plan to change that.
This year, HKEPC 2023 will receive economic policy proposals from undergraduates across universities around the world on a pivotal issue for the future of Hong Kong: labor force crisis. Through this competition, we strive to empower students in addressing this increasingly relevant problem.
The high housing price and cost of raising a child have contributed to a declining birth rate, and stringent Covid policy over the past three years and the lack of industrial diversity have caused a brain drain amongst ex-pats and tech talents in Singapore, Canada, and the mainland, which both result in a deficiency of high-caliber talents and thus threaten Hong Kong’s competence as a city.
Team Formation
Teams must consist of 2-4 individuals, with all individuals attending a Hong Kong tertiary education institution. Team members may consist of students from different universities and different majors, as long as the previous requirements are met.
Once a team is formed, they will register their team online to receive a team ID. The team ID must be used in place of names, university insignia, and any other information that may bias the review board.
We strongly recommend finding a supervisor in the economics/policy department for assistance.
Deliverables
Participants will present their innovative yet practical solutions to Hong Kong’s labor force crisis. Successful proposals will meet the following requirements while maintaining the current level of expenditures and taxation.
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A policy framework for convincing people to have babies, proven effective through previous cases
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An incentive scheme for more MNCs and unicorns in diverse industries, especially tech, to headquarter in Hong Kong, also proven effective through previous cases.
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Resultant combination of fertility rate and net migration that sustains the population, throughout the rest of 2020’s
Format
Please submit your proposal decks in the following format:
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Horizontal presentation
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12 pages, not including the title page, the table of contents, the appendix, and references.
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We only allow PDF (.pdf) format. PPT (.pptx) is not accepted.
Judging Rubric
Understanding of the Current Situation
Demonstrates an awareness of ground realities in Hong Kong’s labor-force crisis, supported by relevant and accurate evidence.
Originality and Creativity
Proposes novel economic policy ideas for addressing Hong Kong’s labor-force crisis.
Presentation Coherence and Design
Presents with neat, aesthetically pleasing slides. Effective delivery by presenters.
Justifies the feasibility and utility of solutions with evidence, factoring in behavioral responses to policies.
Accuracy and Depth of Analysis
Feasibility of Policy Recommendations & Practicality
Answers judges’ questions exhaustively and coherently, supported by relevant and accurate evidence.