The Northeastern University Fiscal Challenge team placed third in the nation at the 2026 Fiscal Challenge National Finals, held on Friday, April 10, in Washington, D.C.
Congratulations to team members Tamarron Austin, Zac Gottschalk, Kai King, Lily Hyun, Lindsey Reeves, and Hudson Small, and congratulations as well to faculty advisor Professor Mark Hooker.
The Fiscal Challenge is a national undergraduate economics competition, supported by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, that tasks teams of students with developing a comprehensive fiscal policy proposal to stabilize the U.S. national debt over a 30-year horizon. Teams submit a first-round video presentation, and the top six finalists are invited to Washington, D.C., to present and defend their proposals before a distinguished panel of judges from leading think tanks and policy organizations, including the Congressional Budget Office, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
This result continues a strong run for Northeastern in the competition as previous teams have won the national title in 2022 and have placed third in 2023, 2024, and now 2026.
