Young Economist 2015 winners announced

The Young Economist competition has recently concluded and the winning teams were announced at a function in Cape Town. The competition requires of first year students, in teams of two to four, to forecast various economic variables such as the GDP growth rate, inflation figures, the repo (interest) rate and exchange rates. Teams are awarded points for the accuracy of their forecasts once the official numbers are released. This year, the competition also included forecasts for the oil and gold prices. The competition is hosted by Stellenbosch University (and sponsored by Die Burger), open to first year students from UCT and UWC and this year proved very popular with over 80 teams entering.

The winning team, calling themselves the Probable Economists and consisting of David Rodwell (second from left in picture) and Darryn Fourie (3rd from left), were from Stellenbosch, as were the runners-up (The Weathermen, consisting of AJ Dewberry, right and CLJ Foster, left). Asked about their experience, David said "I would say that the competition is a great initiative that broadens your understanding of economics outside of the classroom. In addition, the competition also shows that there is evidence of the theory taught in lectures", and Darryn, "The competition opened us up to the difficulty in predicting economic data. I think we have gained invaluable tools in realising the real-world applications of what we learn in the class room and has certainly enriched our problem solving skills."

The top ten teams were:

1. Probable Economists (SU)
2. The Weathermen (SU)
3. The Bailout Package (UCT)
4. Bo Derek (SU)
5. Rational Expectations (UCT)
6. The Keynesian Masters (UWC)
7. Nash Equilibrium (UCT)
8. MVP's (UCT)
9. nkwezelis (UWC)
10. The Black Market (UCT)