A. GENERAL STRUCTURE

1. Team Divisions
   1. There will be two divisions: David Ricardo and Adam Smith.
   2. The David Ricardo division includes teams of students enrolled in one- ?semester (or less) general economics courses or courses which include introductory economic concepts (social studies, business, personal finance, etc.). The course must be taught by a secondary teacher. Students who have never taken an economics course are eligible to compete.
   3. The Adam Smith division includes teams of students, currently or previously, enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP Micro, AP Macro, or AP Micro and Macro), International Baccalaureate (pre-IB and IB), honors, two-semester, or any other advanced courses in economics (including courses taught by a secondary teacher where students earn college credit). The course must be taught by a secondary teacher.
   4. Any team consisting of one or more students enrolled in a course listed in A.1.c. must play in the Adam Smith division.
   5. Teams shall only compete against other teams in their own division.
2. Team Composition
   1. Teams shall be comprised of no more than four (4) members.
   2. Competing with only three (3) members, if necessary, is possible and permissible.
   3. All members of a team must be from the same public school, private school, community organization or club, or after-school program. This means that students from different schools are eligible to be on the same team if they are all part of one of the groups mentioned in this section (A.2.c). Home-based high school students may join teams of any of the groups mentioned in this section (A.2.c) or may start a team with other home-based high school students in their county.
   4. A team that qualifies for the national semi-final and/or national final competition may reconstitute the members of its team prior to the competition. Teams must, however, meet the team composition conditions in A.2., and students must meet the general student eligibility conditions in A.3., as well as, the eligibility conditions for the division in which the team qualified (see A.1.).
   5. All teams must have a coach, who is an associate (e.g. employee or volunteer) of the team school, organization, or program, and who is fit to accompany students to New York City, should the team advance to the finals. 
3. Student Eligibility
   1. Students must be enrolled in a public high school, private high school, or home-based high school during the 2023-2024 academic year.
   2. Students who have taken or are taking economics courses for college credit from a post-secondary instructor are not eligible to compete.
   3. Students who have taken more than one semester of economics at any time must compete in the Adam Smith division. In particular, students who are in their second semester of any economics course must compete in the Adam Smith division.
   4. No student is permitted to compete in the David Ricardo division for more than one year. Any returning student who has already participated in the National Economics Challenge (at the state-level or higher) must compete in the Adam Smith division in subsequent years, regardless of previous or current coursework.
   5. Home-schooled students must compete in the Adam Smith division.

B. CONTEST FORMAT – NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS

1. Each state participating in the National Economics Challenge will identify a state champion for each division, which will represent the state at the National Semi-Final level.
2. The National Semi-Final will be a series of written tests at the schools or organizations of all state champions. Principals or administrators at state champion schools and organizations should work with State Coordinators to identify a test room and a proctor and to affirm in writing that test conditions were conducive to ensuring fair results.
3. There will be four rounds of competition in the National Semi-Finals for each division:
   1. Rounds I-III will be 20-minute rounds with 15 five-option, multiple-choice questions in each round. In Rounds I-III each member competes individually; the team score in each of the first three rounds is the sum of the top three individual scores.
   2. In Round IV, members compete as a team and submit one answer sheet. The format will be the same as the first three rounds: a 20- minute round with 15 five-option, multiple-choice questions. The score on the Round IV test will be multiplied by three so that this round is weighted equally with each of the first three rounds. 
4. The content covered in Rounds I-III is as follows: Round I - Microeconomics; Round II - Macroeconomics; Round III – International Economics and Current Events. The content covered in Round IV will be drawn from all topics in economics.
5. Scoring in all rounds is based on the following system: +10 points for each correct response, -5 points for each incorrect response, and 0 points for no response.
6. The top four scoring teams in each division at the National Semi-Final level will be invited to compete in the National Finals, to be held in New York City, NY.
7. In each division, the first tie-breaker for placement at the National Semi-Final level is the team score in Round IV. The second tie-breaker is the total team score in Rounds I-III, counting the scores of all four team members. In the event that more than one team ends up in fourth place after all tie-breakers, all teams scoring in the fourth position will be invited to compete in the virtual finals.

C. CONTEST FORMAT – NATIONAL FINALS

1. The top four scorers in each division of the National Semi-Finals will be invited to compete in the National Finals. All teams will begin the Finals with a score of zero, i.e. scores from the National Semi-Finals round will not accrue to the Finals.
2. There will be four preliminary rounds of competition (Rounds I-IV), with the two highest-scoring teams from each division advancing to Round V.
3. Rounds I-III will be 20-minute rounds with25 five-option, multiple-choice questions in each round. In Rounds I-III, each member competes individually. The team score in each of the first three rounds is the sum of the top three individual scores. The content covered in Rounds I through III is as follows: Round I - Microeconomics; Round II - Macroeconomics; Round III – International Economics and Current Events.
4. Scoring in the preliminary rounds is based on the following system: +10 points for each correct response, -5 points for each incorrect response, and 0 points for no response. The team score is the sum of the top three individual scores in each round.
5. In Round IV, members compete as a team to develop an analysis to a case problem. Teams will present their solutions to a panel of judges, who will assign each team a score based on: completeness of response; economic analysis and insight; background knowledge; and presentation. This score will be added to teams’ accrued scores from Rounds I-III to determine the two top scorers, who will advance to Round V.
6. Round V is an oral quiz-bowl covering all topics in economics. 
7. The two highest-scoring teams from each division after Rounds I-IV advance to Round V and compete to be awarded National Champion and National Runner-Up for their division. Teams with the third and fourth highest scores after Rounds I-IV will earn third and fourth place.
8. The first tie-breaker for placement and advancement to the Round V quiz bowl is the team score in Round IV; the second tie-breaker is the total team score in Rounds I-III, counting the scores of all four team members. In the event of a continued tie, the team with the member who has the highest total individual score will advance, with subsequent team member scores used if both teams have an equivalent highest individual score.
9. At all points throughout the Quiz Bowl
   1. Any team member may buzz in at any time while a question is read. ?The individual that buzzes in serves as the spokesperson for the question and is the only person from whom a response can be given.
   2. One point is awarded for each question answered correctly by a team.
10. If an incorrect answer is given, the opposing team has the opportunity to hear the entire question.
11. Teams found to be “blitzing” by providing an excessive amount of information in response to a question will have their answer declared incorrect.
12. If a team member buzzes in before the entire question is read...
    1. ... he/she will have 5 seconds to answer based solely on the information heard up to that point.
    2. Conferring with teammates is not allowed.
13. If a team member buzzes in after the entire question is read, the team has 15 seconds to confer with team members and have a response given by its spokesperson.
14. Round V is over as soon as one team leads by more points than there are questions remaining.
    1. A maximum of 30 questions will be asked.
    2. In the event of a tie after 30 questions, the first team to correctly answer a tie-breaking question will be declared the winner.
15. Use of Support Materials
    1. The use of books, notes, calculators, or other support materials is not allowed during the competition.
    2. Students will be provided a pencil and a piece of scratch paper in all rounds.