The 2026 competition is now open for entries

In 2000 the Society inaugurated an annual prize for economics writing in memory of Tadeusz Rybczynski, an eminent economist and former Society Chairman.

The Rybczynski Prize is awarded to the best piece of writing on economics, as judged by the SPE Council (with assistance from specialist readers where appropriate).  The judges look for high-quality submissions on an important real world economic issue which merits wide attention among professional economists. The style of the piece should make it accessible and interesting to an economically literate business audience. We are particularly keen to encourage entries from women.

The prize of £5,000 is kindly offered by KPMG, who are sponsoring the competition, and is awarded at the Society’s Annual Dinner and the author(s) of the final shortlisted entries will be invited to the dinner as guests of the SPE.

Selection Criteria

Essays - which can cover any field of economics - must be submitted by 1 July 2026 and should not have been published before 1 January 2025 ie. this prize is for work written and/or published between the start of the calendar year 2025 and the closing date. 

The judges will be looking for around 3,000 (with an absolute maximum of 4,000) well-written words. In particular, the judges look for high-quality submissions on an important real world economic issue which merit wide attention among professional economists.  The style of the piece should make it accessible and interesting to an economically literate business audience. Charts and tables are welcome but extensive use of algebra or footnotes is discouraged. AI tools may be used for purposes of improving grammar, spellchecking and readability, and for researching the topic. But the submitted essay must be original work - AI-generated text cannot be included in your submission.

All SPE members are eligible to enter as well as non-member economists from the UK and Europe. 

How to enter

To enter, please first read the Terms & Conditions. If eligible,  email your essay to office@spe.org.uk together with the completed entry form (click on download).

Please note that the Judging Panel mark ‘blind’,  ie. all entries are anonymised before sending on to the Judges.