The Exploring Complex Solutions for a Complex World Fellowship is a competitive, renewable, and online fellowship program for high school students. Fellowships are open to students from any high school program (whether public, private, or home school) who are interested in understanding political, economics, and social life. This program is part of the Don Lavoie Fellowship.
“I really loved diving deep into topics that we don’t get to dive into at school. It was so eye-opening to discuss not just graphs, but the actual implications of economics and student on the real world, and a glimpse into the actual thoughts behind what we learn in AP Econ.”
– Student from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Exploring Complex Solutions Fellows attend a series of online activities, including an online discussion portal and online reading discussion sessions led by various Hayek Program scholars that introduce them to the complexity of the world around us, the challenges of planning, and the importance of trade-offs. Fellows will join a network of Mercatus students, alumni, faculty, and scholars who are conducting and engaging with cutting edge research in contemporary political economy.
This online program invites each cohort of students to participate during one semester of the academic year. Each participant will receive the books we plan to discuss, including:
- Applied Mainline Economics by Matthew D. Mitchell and Peter J. Boettke
- Do Markets Corrupt Our Morals? by Virgil Henry Storr and Ginny Seung Choi
- Doing Bad by Doing Good by Christopher J. Coyne
- National Economic Planning by Don Lavoie
Those selected to participate in the fellowship can expect to directly interact with Mercatus Center scholars who hold doctoral degrees in economics political science, and sociology, read approximately 100-page selections from each of the 4 books assigned, and to spend roughly 2 hours of time each week participating in asynchronous, online discussions with other high school students and Mercatus Scholars on the reading selections and supplemental materials. Participants will gain experience thinking critically about key issues and participating in discussions with others from a variety of backgrounds. This experience will help prepare students for college and provide an opportunity to receive academic advice from scholars and staff.
Applications close September 30
