Apply for the 2023 World Trade Organization (WTO) Essay Award

You are here because you believe you can get the best information on how to apply for the 2023 World Trade Organization (WTO) Essay Award; and I can assure you that’s what you’re going to get.

For those who do not know what World Trade Organization essay award is, the prize seeks to strengthen ties between the academic community and the WTO while fostering top-notch research on international trade cooperation and trade policy.

Young Economists are usually encouraged to participate.

Worth of the Award

All successful and shortlisted applicants are entitled to an award worth of CHF 5,000 and a fully-funded trip to the UK.

Eligibility Criteria

Although young people are encouraged to apply, it’s important to check out eligibility status before proceeding to apply for the essay prize. To be eligible to participate in the World Trade Organization Essay Competition;

• The author(s) of the manuscript must hold a PhD or be working toward one, and if over 30, they must not have completed their PhD defense more than two years ago.

This criterion shall apply to all authors of co authored papers.

Essay Requirements

• The topic of the essay must be trade policy and global trade cooperation.
• Essays must not be more than 15,000 words to be eligible for the award.

Now that you know this, to help you prepare for the essay as hard as you can, it’s important to note that an Academic Selection Panel is responsible for the selection of the winning paper.

The panel comprises:

• Professor Beata Javorcik (University of Oxford).
• Professor Robert Staiger (Dartmouth College).
• Professor Alberto Trejos (INCAE Business School)
• Professor Ralph Ossa (Director, Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO Secretariat) who is also an ex officio member of the panel.
• Dr Roberta Piermartini (Chief, Trade Cost Analysis Section, WTO) coordinates the work of the selection panel.

Connecting with these people on LinkedIn is your best shot at getting tips and more information on how to ace the essay.

Now to the reason that brought you here:

How to apply for the WTO essay competition

All eligible and interested persons should do the following:

– Send all submissions to essay.award@wto.org.

– Entries must contain the following in PDF format as separate attachments.

(The essay’s CV of the author(s) includes information on their present affiliation(s), academic institution where they received their PhD, year (or anticipated year) of graduation, and birthdate).

FAQs about WTO’s Essay Prize Competition

When is the submission deadline?

Essays must be submitted by 2 June 2023. The Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO Secretariat will shortlist eligible papers by 16 June 2023 and the selection panel will take a final decision by 7 July 2023. Only the author(s) of short-listed essays will be notified.

When is the award ceremony?

The award ceremony will take place on 14-16 September 2023 at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. The winning author will receive funding to attend the meeting.

How much is the award prize?

CHF 5,000 and a funded trip to the UK.

Can I co-write the essay?

Of course you can.

In the case of a co-authored paper, the prize will be equally divided among the authors.

Will my publication be published?

The winning essay may be published in the WTO Working Paper Series. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to endeavor to secure publication of the contribution in a journal.

Now that you now have all the information concerning WTO’s essay competition, I wish you all the best in your application process.

For more information, Visit the WTO Official Website.