Ireland’s brightest young economists honoured by the Central Bank of Ireland at the 2022 Generation €uro Students’ Award

• Students from Benildus College in Stillorgan, Dublin, win top award
• Our Lady’s College in Louth, and Coláiste Iognáid in Galway, runners up in the national final

Ireland’s brightest young economists – students from Benildus College in Dublin, Our Lady’s College in Louth, and Coláiste Iognáid in Galway - competed in a tightly contested national final in the Generation €uro Students’ Award run by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Students from Benildus College in Stillorgan, Dublin, claimed the top award after overcoming tough competition in the national final.

Now in its ninth year, the school competition, run by the Central Bank of Ireland in association with the European Central Bank (ECB), challenges Transition Year and 5th Year students to design monetary policy.

Economic students Joshua Finnegan, Senan Walls and Gagik Avetisyan from Benildus College, and their teacher Eoghan Coffey, will now represent Ireland at the European Central Bank (ECB) where they will meet ECB President Christine Lagarde and the other winning teams from across Europe.

Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery praised the budding economists for participating in the final, saying: “The Central Bank of Ireland is committed to encouraging the economists of the future, and the students demonstrate there is a strong pipeline of young people interested in economics who may choose to forge careers in this area. I congratulate all three teams for their perseverance in working together and reaching the final. The students showed a great understanding of the principles of economics and monetary policy, and the work performed by the ECB, the Eurosystem, and the Central Bank. Selecting a winner was a difficult decision for the judging panel. The teams analysed the challenges faced by the euro area and should be commended for their ability to assess the rapidly changing economic environment.”

Speaking about the winning team, Deputy Governor Donnery added: “Benildus College showed a great understanding of the principles of economics and monetary policy, the ECB’s mandate of price stability, and competently answered questions posed by Central Bank of Ireland economists, displaying in-depth knowledge of the topic.”

Notes

• The Generation €uro Students' Award is Ireland's leading economics competition for Transition and 5th Year students.
• It is run by the Central Bank of Ireland in conjunction with the European Central Bank (ECB) and is conducted simultaneously by other national central banks in the euro area. Every year we search for Ireland’s brightest young economists to enact the role of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, perform their own analysis of the economy and set what they believe is an appropriate interest rate for the euro area.
• Students enter the competition in teams of three to five, with a nominated teacher acting as mentor. Participants are tested over three different rounds - a quiz, a written analysis and a presentation. The successful teams from the online quiz proceed to the second round where they are asked to analyse economic conditions and determine what they believe to be the appropriate interest rate for the euro area. The finalists then present their findings to a panel of senior economists at the Central Bank.