Economics Personal Statement Example 34

Reviewing the 2008 financial crisis made me consider ‘why have we not anticipated and warned people strongly about the crashes with our sophisticated knowledge of Economics?’ This has pushed me into exploring the subject in greater depth.

My study of Economics has allowed me to understand human behaviour in reality. I am fascinated by how Economic theories can prove one’s decision. However, I find human behaviour difficult to interpret on many occasions, as Economic models are based on many assumptions which leads to uncertainties in real life application. One of the strongest limitations I found is the irrationality of human behaviour. People often do not know how to make the best decision to maximise their own benefits, instead, people tend to follow the crowd, which may result in serious consequences to society. I wish to explore Behavioural Economics, Game Theory, and related topics in more detail at university. I provide weekly lessons to a group of Year 12 Economics students. From this experience, I have built up effective time management and confident communication skills.

From my study of Mathematics, I have developed a strong analytical and logical mindset. I realised Economic information is represented as straight line function due to simplicity, whereas Mathematical methods such as differentiation derive the deviation from the original line. Therefore, I see Mathematics as a complementary tool to support effective Economics analysis, particularly in highly quantitative modules at university. Taking A-level Business Studies has further enhanced my problem solving, analytical and critical thinking skills, whilst the subject is also associated to Microeconomics.

Attending an LSE public debate about Easternalisation, I understand that China has made a lot of irrational decisions with its policy due to strong nationalism, this may potentially lower its leading economic and political power in the future. Last summer, I visited a number of investment projects in various regions of China, attempting to assess the contribution and return to society of each firm. I discovered that China’s market is strongly driven by short term capital gain, leading to unwise investments and the absence of productive ideas or innovations. Coupled with some extra reading on Zero to One by Peter Thiel, I noticed that many ideas are simply shadows of others. Many entrepreneurs dream to become the next Mark Zuckerberg or the next Bill Gates, but they do not realise that the next Mark Zuckerberg does not create a social medium and the next Bill Gates does not build an operating system. This can result in intense competition and no value is created in the society; I find this situation particularly severe in China. Muhammud Yunus teaches us to know the importance of effective resource allocation. He proved 27 US dollars can be turned into 1 billion US dollars, and 1 billion can vanish overnight through this unnecessary competition. I aspire to study on a degree course which supports me in learning how to optimise resource allocation.

BOE 2.0 Challenge and the IFS Investor Challenge allowed me to gain real life experience of decision making in relation to economic targets, and an understanding of the importance of real life data analysis to support these decisions. In the Investor Challenge, I ended up losing a third of the starting capital which taught me that even the best use of data and economic theories cannot always compensate for external factors beyond our control. Taking on several leadership roles including peer mentor, house prefect and head of house, I have developed into a responsible leader who is able to work under pressure. My subscription to The Economist has further broadened my understanding of world economies. All of the above provides me with knowledge and skills to support me in doing well on my university course and ultimately in my aim to contribute to the sustainable economic development of my country and the world.