Economics a winner
13 Aug 2019
Year 13 student Max Surveyor’s passion for economics has seen him achieve high honours at the 2019 International Economics Olympiad (IEO) – taking third place in the individual competition and as a member of the New Zealand team that came seventh overall.
The IEO brings young people from all over the world together to foster unity, celebrate their common interests, and encourage greater understanding of financial literacy, economics and business.
Max confesses he didn’t do much sightseeing, preferring to spend his spare time studying.
“I was worried I was going to embarrass myself, so each night after dinner I would read over my text books until 3am.”
Max enjoys exploring concepts related to economics and works hard to improve his understanding.
“Economics is not an exact science and that’s why I love it. It’s both maths and art. While its basis is in mathematics, the fact that things aren’t so clear-cut leaves room for you to creatively use the models to explain the problems that are thrown in front of you. I also like politics – and between politics and economics you can pretty much explain how most of the world works.”
While he hasn’t yet decided his future pathway, Max hopes to study overseas and would one day like to work in the fields of finance, politics or law.
The 2019 IEO was held in St Petersburg, Russia, from Wednesday 24–Wednesday 31 July.
