INTERNATIONAL FINAL 2026–27 / ZHUHAI, CHINA / 23–26 JANUARY 2027

ECONOMICS

Project Themes & Requirements

From everyday choices to real-world market challenges. Find your grade group below and explore your scenario, task, deliverable and criteria to win.

Grade K

Grades 1–3

Grades 4–6

Grades 7–9

Grades 10–12

01 / GRADE K

Consumer Choice & Scarcity

The Toy Factory Basket

Core microeconomic focus: Opportunity Cost, Resource Constraints, and Incentives

The scenario

Students are given a small physical basket (their resource constraint) and a collection of toy cutouts divided into two groups: “High-value toys” (takes up a lot of space in the basket) and “Low-value toys” (takes up very little space).

Your task

The student must fill their basket for a playtime session. They cannot fit all the high-value toys. They must choose a combination that fits perfectly within the physical boundaries of the basket.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

A 30-second audio/video clip holding up the items they wanted but had to leave behind, explaining: “I couldn’t fit this toy because my basket was full, so I chose these smaller ones instead.”

Criteria to win

Clear recognition that choosing one item meant giving up another (opportunity cost) due to limited space (scarcity).

02 / GRADES 1–3

The Price Mechanism & Consumer Demand

The Snack Shack Pricing Experiment

Core microeconomic focus: Supply, Demand, and Price Adjustments

The scenario

Students run a simulated recess snack stand selling two items: a popular treat (high demand) and a healthy snack (lower demand). They are given a fixed inventory of 10 of each item.

Your task

Over three rounds of a simulated market day, the student must adjust their prices (using play tokens) based on buyer behavior. If the popular treat sells out instantly, they must figure out what to do with the price. If the healthy snack isn’t selling, they must adjust the price to clear inventory.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

A simple chart showing the price changes across the three rounds and a short verbal explanation of why they raised or lowered their prices.

Criteria to win

Correctly identifying that high demand allows for higher prices, and low demand requires price cuts to clear a surplus.

03 / GRADES 4–6

Production Costs & Profit Maximization

The Handmade Bookmark Workshop

Core microeconomic focus: Fixed vs. Variable Costs, Revenue, and Profit

The scenario

Students act as micro-manufacturers making custom bookmarks. They have a budget of 100 tokens. They must pay a “Fixed Cost” for tools (scissors, rulers = 20 tokens) and “Variable Costs” for raw materials (paper, stickers, ribbons = 5 tokens per bookmark).

Your task

Students calculate their total costs to produce 5, 10, and 15 bookmarks. They must then set a selling price per bookmark that covers their total costs and generates a profit, factoring in how much their classmates are actually willing to pay.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

A basic cost-and-revenue sheet showing: Fixed Costs + Variable Costs = Total Cost, compared against Expected Revenue and Net Profit.

Criteria to win

Absolute mathematical accuracy in separating fixed from variable costs, and setting a market-realistic price that maximizes profit without driving away customers.

04 / GRADES 7–9

Market Structures & Competitive Strategy

The Local Cafe War

Core microeconomic focus: Monopolistic Competition, Product Differentiation, and Barriers to Entry

The scenario

A new, identical coffee/boba shop is opening directly across the street from an established one in the student’s neighborhood (creating a highly competitive market structure).

Your task

The student must design a microeconomic strategy for one of these shops to survive and thrive. Because they cannot easily change the market price of the raw ingredients, they must focus on non-price competition (product differentiation, loyalty incentives, niche branding, or service speed) to shift their individual demand curve to the right.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

A 3-to-4 page strategic proposal mapping out their target customer demographic, their unique value proposition (differentiation), and a graph conceptually illustrating how their strategy shifts their business’s demand curve.

Criteria to win

Deep understanding of the specific market structure they are operating in and a highly logical, evidence-backed strategy showing how non-price variables affect consumer utility and firm demand.

05 / GRADES 10–12

Market Failures & Negative Externalities

The Fast-Fashion Environmental Correction

Core microeconomic focus: Negative Externalities, Social vs. Private Costs, and Pigouvian Taxes/Subsidies

The scenario

A local manufacturing plant produces trendy, low-cost clothing. While it generates high private profits and cheap consumer goods, it creates a massive negative externality: chemical runoff into the local river, costing the community thousands in water cleanup (Marginal Social Cost > Marginal Private Cost).

Your task

Students act as microeconomic consultants hired by the city council. They must design a market-based intervention—such as a Pigouvian tax on production, a cap-and-trade pollution permit system, or a consumer subsidy for eco-friendly alternatives—to internalize the externality and bring the market back to allocative efficiency.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

A comprehensive 1,500-word microeconomic analysis paper utilizing formal Marginal Social Cost (MSC) and Marginal Private Cost (MPC) equilibrium graphs to demonstrate deadweight loss, followed by a data-backed defense of their chosen regulatory mechanism.

Criteria to win

Flawless graphical modeling of externalities, precise identification of deadweight loss, and a highly sophisticated critique of the chosen intervention’s trade-offs (e.g., how the tax might increase consumer prices or cause local unemployment).

Questions about your Economics project?

Contact the WOO! organizing team on WhatsApp

WOO! International Final 2026–27 · Zhuhai, China · 23–26 January 2027