Our partners at ECAEF are organising a writing contests you cannot miss. Here are all the details:
19th INTERNATIONAL VERNON SMITH PRIZE 2026 is an essay competition for the advancement of Austrian Economics, sponsored and organised by the European Centre for Austrian Economics Foundation, Vaduz (Principality of Liechtenstein).
Compose your essay on the following topic:
“The More Corrupt the State, the More Numerous the Laws.”
Publius Cornelius Tacitus (appr. 58AD-120AD)
After nearly two thousand years, Tacitus’ famous quote remains strikingly relevant and offers a timeless warning about authority, greed, and the true nature of state control. It is the corrupt and overpowering state that tends to create and pass “numerous“ Statutes or Legislative Acts by disguising political failures as attentive governance.
In today’s unlimited democracies, the Law, as the overarching legal framework, ceases to protect people’s freedom, and Statutes become tools of control, crafted to benefit, restrain, or silence. Complexity
replaces clarity, power hides behind paperwork and free speech often turns into a personal risk. The number of Statutes is no proof of Justice but evidence of the Law’s rapid decay.
All entries must meet the following 6 requirements:
- No entry may be generated by Chat GPT or any other AI application. All participants are required to add their signed pledge to have written the contending essay without any such support. Any use of an AI bot or other AI tool to fully or partially create the essay will be considered a breach of
intern. academic plagiarism policy. - Entries may be submitted by individuals of up to 30 years (in 2026) and must be received on or before November 16, 2026.
- Entries must be submitted in English in electronic form (PDF) to krl@ecaef.org and/or admin@ecaef.org and must include a current CV, Date of Birth and their signed pledge.
- Entries may not exceed 10 pages, including a full bibliography and a 1/2 page abstract; 1.5 spacing; left/right margins no less than 1 inch.
- Winners will be invited to present and defend their papers at a special event in Vaduz (Principality of Liechtenstein) on February 22, 2027. Their presence is mandatory.
- Prizes are not transferable. An international jury will judge essays on the basis of originality, grasp of subject and the logical consistence of the argument.
First Prize: €4,000 – Second Prize: €3,000 – Third Prize: €2,000.
Find out more details here.
