Personal Statement of Purpose

Back in high school, I was enrolled in the British system and I was
required to take 5 IGCSE and 4 AS level subjects between grades 10 to 12 in
order to graduate. From when I was a child, I was always influenced by my
father and I always saw my future career in engineering. At first, since I was
planning on becoming a mechanical engineer, I focused my field of study
towards the science and mathematics subjects in high school. As such, I took
IGCSE Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in grade 10, and AS Mathematics
and Physics in grade 11. Unfortunately, in grade 11 during the period of my
exams, I got really sick and I was not able to perform to my full potential and
so I barely passed grade 11.
Since the grades I received in the AS subjects in grade 11 were not
going to help me to apply to college, and since by the time the results were
out, it was too late to re-apply for the same tests again, I had to find a
solution for my problem. Therefore, I chose to study IGCSE and AS level
Business, and Economics. This was the best decision that I ever took in my
life. When I started studying economics, I saw how economics is a really
powerful tool that not many understand. It affects peoples lives, but also
gets affected by peoples actions, especially in this era where globalization
and ease in transportation have made international trade a vital part in all
economies.
When I started high school in 2008, in this same year the financial
crisis happened. I used to watch the television and see many discussions
about what the impacts of the financial crisis are going to be on the world
economy, and why even though the crisis occurred in a specific sector and a
specific country it still affected the worlds economy. In addition, economists
and financial experts used to have debates on TV about what should
governments do, and how can they manage this crisis. However, none of
what was being said made any sense to me back then, because I had no
knowledge about how the globalized world nowadays operated.
When I first started studying economics in 2010, I started seeing how
the world is not as what normal people see it. A regular person, would be
working, receiving a salary, and caring for their family, but thats all. Most
people really do not understand how economics works, and how it is fully
integrated, not just on the local economy level, but even on the global level.
Now that I am in my final year in economics, and at the time of my
graduation in Spring 2015, I would have studied a total of 18 economics
courses out of the 40 courses required for my graduation, I have gained
many economic theories and concepts that explain how the world functions.

However, even though I know them theoretically, I am still not good at

connecting them empirically.
The purpose behind pursuing a graduate degree in Applied Economics
is to first and far most strengthen my understanding of the economic
theories and concepts that I have studied while pursing my Bachelors
degree in Economics. I strongly believe that by extending on what I have
already learned in economics through attending graduate school, I will be
empowering myself with a tool that would help me in almost every aspect in
my future life and career. Secondly, by getting a degree in Applied
Economics, I will be putting the economic concepts that I have learned into
application, which is something that I did not study well in my undergraduate
school and I believe it is extremely important.
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Potential Research Topic
My main interest in economics is the financial and banking sector. Through
self-study and analysis I have noticed that at times the real interest rate in a
country can go down significantly, sometimes even below zero, yet the
countrys GDP still keeps on increasing. Thus, for my research topic, I would
like to focus on studying this phenomena and see what are the causes
behind it. I will do this through analyzing the determinants behind the Real
Interest Rate and the Real GDP.