Publisert: 06.04.16

The McKinsey Global Institute has launched a global essay contest aimed at crowdsourcing solutions to one of Europe’s biggest political and economic conundrums: how to implement a pro-growth economic strategy that is both effective and that appeals to voters and policy-makers. The essay prize is a follow-up to the MGI June 2015 report, A Window of Opportunity for Europe, which identified policy measures that could double GDP growth in Europe in a sustainable manner and create more than 20 million jobs in Europe. While that report identified the “why” and the “what,” it did not focus on the “how.” The contest is being held under the patronage of European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Juncker, a former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, himself articulated the dilemma that the essay is hoping to resolve, when he said back in 2007 “we all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.” The winner of the essay contest will receive a prize of €60,000. A prize of €25,000 will be awarded to the best essay written by an author under the age of 30. A further €15,000 will be awarded to runners-up at the discretion of the panel of judges, which is chaired by Pascal Lamy, a former European Trade Commissioner and ex-director general of the World Trade Organization.  Submissions are due by July 31 and the awards will be presented at a dinner ceremony in Brussels in October. The rules and conditions can be found on http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/mckinsey-global-institute-essay-prize