For High School Students

Projects in Applied Economics for High School Students

Projects in Applied Economics for High School Students was a free competition program run by CERGE-EI between 2016-2019. The program was designed for high school students who wished to gain a deeper understanding of economics, learn and apply research methodology and pursue their own research interests supervised by experienced academics. The group that provided the best research work was awarded a special prize at a final round.

This program was organized by the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education – Economic Institute (CERGE-EI), a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and supported by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports.

 

 

About the program

Why should you participate?

While being a high school student you will get a unique opportunity not only to learn, but also to apply research methods under the supervision of young and well-experienced researchers. You will explore selected economics topics using real data, enter an international academic circle, and get feedback on your work as well as suggestions for your future activities. Last, but not least: a special prize will be awarded to the group that provides the best research work.

„The project was interesting and rewarding. It gave me a better idea of how economics and statistics are used in real life. I gained a key knowledge base of how statistics works, which will greatly help in my future studies and at university.“

Jakub, student, 2016 participant

Program structure

In 12 weeks you will:

  • Learn the basics of economics and research methods (week 1 – 6)
  • Pursue a research project based on obtained real data (week 7 – 10)
  • Receive a presentation skills workshop (week 11)
  • Present your research results and get feedback on your work (week 12)

In the first half of the program a group of 25 – 30 students will learn the economics basics and methodology. In the second half students will be divided into small groups (about 5 students) focused on particular topics based on their interest; using real data sets to pursue their own research in collaboration with a supervisor. When their research is finished, the Academic Skills Center of CERGE-EI will provide a presentation skills workshop, including consultation and feedback on their materials. The program concludes with each group presenting their research results and discussing them. The best group will be awarded a valuable prize.

Who is it for?

Participants are:

  • Students within the last three years of high school (2nd-4th year of 4 year high school/ 4th-6th year of 6 year high school/ 6th-8th year of 8 year high school), aged 19 or younger
  • Eager to learn research methods and pursue their own research
  • Strong in Mathematics (no specific knowledge of mathematics is required, however some basics are necessary and ability to comprehend new concepts will help enable you to use it in your own research)
  • Fluent in English

What topics can you research, who are the lecturers and tutors?

You will have the opportunity to pursue research in diverse areas of economics using a range of methods (click on a title for more details). The research projects follow research of tutors and researches, who are advanced CERGE-EI PhD candidates and graduates, with rich experience in both research and teaching.

When and where?

September 23 – December 16, 2019 (1 x 2 hours per week, 5-7pm ), CERGE-EI, Politických vězňů 7, Prague 1.

 

Project Team

Program supervisor:  Filip Pertold, PhD

Lecturers: Lucie Zapletalová and Michal Šoltés

Tutors and Research Topics: 

Vít Macháček: What drives real estate prices in Prague?

In this project you will describe factors influencing prices of real estates offered on the website BezRealitky.cz in the area of Prague. The prices are a result of complex factors ranging from the relative position to the city center, availability of public transport and services to the surrounding environment. Your task will be to shed more light into what factors are the crucial determinants of the prices and whose role is rather low. Your  model can in the end serve as a basis for a real estate price-map in Prague.

Petr Pleticha: Dating market: Do birds of a feather flock together or do opposites attract?

The goal of the project is to investigate how fields of study determine mutual attraction and likelihood of dating. Such insights are not only interesting from the academic perspective; they are also relevant for policy. The increasing number of couples with similar fields of study and career tracks add to income inequality among families. Whether it is due to people’s preferences or due to meeting opportunity is relevant for the policymakers.

Miroslava Federičová: Do your parents matter for success at school?

The Czech Republic belongs among those OECD countries where the impact of family background on student performance. Under family background we usually understand parents´ level of education, highest parental occupation, and family income or home possession. Using data from the international programme PISA 2015 that tested 15-year-old students from all over the world, we will provide a deeper perspective on how certain aspects of family background may affect student achievement.

Michal Šoltés: How do we get right political representation?

It is well known that elected political representation has a great impact on the economy. In each municipality, the council is responsible for the provision of public goods such as public schooling, street lighting, road reconstruction and so on. Therefore, it is important for economists to underIt is well known that elected political representation has a great impact on the economy. In each municipality, the council is responsible for the provision of public goods such as public schooling, street lighting, road reconstruction and so on. Therefore, it is important for economists to understand who we, as citizens, elect and how the election result shapes economic policies. During the project, we will focus on data about Czech municipalities and investigate what characteristics of candidates serve as good predictors of the election results.

Nikoloz Kudashvili: What determines your health?

Improved health outcomes are associated with the higher productivity of workers. Therefore, good health positively  affects GDP per capita.However, it is not well investigated how different individual characteristics affect the health level of an individual. In this project we will use data from the UK Health Survey  to model the effect of various individual characteristics  such as age, gender and geographical area on the health level. This will allow us to analyze whether there are differences in health outcomes for individuals of different age and gender.

 

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If you are interested in reading more about last year's Projects in Applied Economics for Talented Students, please visit our blog.

Download Projects in Applied Economics for High School Students poster.