More than 150 students from O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i's public and private high schools will be participating in the 2008 Island Insurance Companies Economics Challenge, a high school competition designed to showcase outstanding high school economics students and economics courses in Hawai'i.

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Japanese Cultural Center.

A total of 32 teams from six local high schools will compete in two divisions for the title of Hawai'i's Economics Challenge State Champion. Hawai'i's own 'Iolani High School has won the national title in the Economics Challenge national competition in New York City for the past three years.