University of Amsterdam welcomes econometricians to tackle malnutrition in 2023 Econometric Game
The University of Amsterdam welcomes econometricians from around the world for the 24th edition of the Econometric Game! In this competition, teams from top universities will compete for the trophy from 19 to 21 April. The Econometric Game is an initiative of UvA EB’s Study Association for Econometrics (VSAE).
Students teams will work to solve a challenging but relevant case using the latest advancements in Econometrics and Data Science. There was a long list of potential cases this year. In the end, the casemaker, Chintan Amrit, an associate professor with the Amsterdam Business School’s Business Analytics section, decided to bring students’ attention to the pressing matter of malnutrition in Africa.
This year’s case
This year, the case will revolve around wasting, a form of malnutrition, in the Sahel region of Africa. According to the UN, in the last year alone, wasting will have impacted the lives of approximately 6.3 million children under the age of 5 in 6 countries across the region. The challenge is even more relevant given the 27 percent increase in cases in 2022 compared to the previous year. The students will be expected to provide a predictive algorithm using their technical, econometric and creative skills.
About the Econometric Game
The Econometric Game usually brings together around 30 teams consisting of 4 postgraduate students with a maximum of 2 PhD students per team. While many of these students specialise in Econometrics, Mathematics and Data Science students participate as well. The 3-day competition is held in Amsterdam’s Zuiderkerk. The event starts with announcing the case topic to the students for the first time. Next, the teams spend the first 2 days working on the case. After careful evaluation by the jury, only 10 finalists remain to solve the last and most challenging part of the case on the third day. The winner of the Econometric Game will be announced during the last evening and the winning team takes the trophy home.