High school students from across Kansas will compete in an economics challenge with the goal of eventually qualifying for the National Economics Challenge in New York City.

The Kansas competition, conducted by the Kansas Council on Economic Education (KCEE), will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, in the ballroom of the Memorial Union on the campus of Emporia State University.

Individual states host economics challenges. State winners continue to one of four regional finals, where they compete for $1,000 U.S. Savings Bonds and an all-expenses paid trip to the National Economics Challenge in New York City.

From the Kansas competition, students will try to advance to the regional level in Houston. They will then go on to the national challenge, sponsored by the Council for Economic Education and The Goldman Sachs Foundation.

It is the only national economics competition for high school students. Its purpose is to honor and reward high achievers through competition and to showcase outstanding high school economics courses and teachers.

“The challenge is very exciting to watch,” said Angela Howie, KCEE program manager. “It forces students to solve difficult problems based on real-life issues. I am awed by the brilliance of these students.”

The KCEE is based in the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University. It is a nonprofit organization with the mission of ensuring that Kansas youth in grades K-12 are literate in personal finance and economics. It’s affiliated with WSU and the five other state universities in Kansas through the Centers for Economic Education on the universities’ campuses.

The National Economics Challenge was created in 2000 to promote student interest in economics, reinforce classroom instruction, advance academics and school spirit and reward scholarship. It brings public attention to the importance of economic literacy and the need for a high-quality, standards-based economic curriculum in every state.