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Since high school, I had always been interested in finding out why my country Zambia had not yet reached its development peak and yet we are endowed with copious natural resources. The situation in Zambia was and is still analogous to a rich man dying of hunger in the midst of plenty. A situation economists have coined as the paradox of plenty. My curiosity led me to develop strong interest in economics. A couple of years after completing high school, I entered the university of Namibia as an economics major, upon completing this course I still had not yet discovered how I wanted to apply myself as an economist. This dissatisfaction led me to pursue my postgraduate studies in economics at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. During my tenure as masters of economics student, I discovered that my greatest academic strength was in research. My passion, creativity and ability to work independently have made me a successful researcher during post-graduate years. For this reason, I am more than confident I will be a successful PhD candidate at the German institute of Economic Research.
My passion for research stems from intellectual curiosity and from a deep conviction that research helps in policy decision-making, formulation and implementation. Most policies that decision makers have passed in Africa, have been detrimental to the continent and have thrown Africa into a quagmire. For this reason, I am a strong believer that profound economic policies will set most African countries on a new economic growth trajectory. During my tenure as master's student, I spent significant time analysing issues relating to African countries in terms of labour, health and governance. For example, I developed interest in understanding the nexus between education and earnings in Sub-Saharan Africa. I have specifically analysed returns to education in Zambia and in South Africa. The knowledge on returns to education at different levels of education, in different regions and across gender gives us insight on where education policy should mostly focus. Among the papers I have mentioned above, I am currently in the process of publishing the paper on returns to education in South Africa with Dr Craig Depken from the University of North Carolina Charlotte(USA). While at the University of North Carolina Charlotte I also worked with Dr Judy Cornelius in the health department as a research assistant, we developed an HIV/AIDS social media intervention program for Botswana.
I have also utilized economics insights to analyse other problems that Africa is currently facing. This year at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, my research which analysed the impacts of climate change on the hydropower industry in Zambia was selected for presentation at the Appalachian annual energy summit in the USA. At this event, I was given an award for the best graduate research at the summit. Other research I have done include the use of anthropometric techniques to quantify the impact that the Mineral Revolution in South Africa had on white South African's living standards.
There has been a tremendous proliferation in research conducted for Africa, but most of the research has been done by academicians from western Institutions. The problem with this is that, most of this research is done outside Africa by individuals that do not understand the socio-economic environment in Africa. This creates a great margin for error and bias in this kind of research. This is why I strongly feel that there is need to mentor African scholars to conduct research for Africa.
The research and life experiences I have had, combined with my training in theory, provide me with a good start towards becoming a successful PhD candidate. My desire is to get the necessary experience and contribute to Africa's development through conducting credible research and to mentor young African scholars to conduct credible and impactful research for the continent of Africa. This will mean specifically starting with my own country Zambia, currently there is not much research being done by the University of Zambia, my hope is that after gaining the necessary experience, I will be able to work with. I am determined to make the most of the education that I have received from my classes and life by following my indefatigable quest for knowledge and sharing what I discover with the academic world.
Holt Educational Consultant - / 14,835 
4783 Michael, are you a professional student? With that question, what I would like to know is if you are the kind of student who has dedicated his life to studying instead of balancing his academic growth with a career purpose. The reason that I am asking about that is because there is a lot of theoretical background in your essay, but almost a non-existent professional application for it. Have you not had the chance to work as an economist in your country yet? Why is the experience always overseas? I am not putting your SOP down or anything, I am just posing the questions that the reviewer will find himself asking as he reads your application essay. In order to create a more convincing SOP, you will need to present some sort of professional experience or application in support of your academic and achievement claims. Right now, it seems like you are more focused on the academic aspect without clearly defining the professional applications of your studies. For example, you could have presented a dissertation proposal here that would have clearly shown how your professional career would benefit from your economic analogies and discoveries in relation to the economic growth of your country. Such a discussion would clearly represent the far reaching purpose for your desire to accomplish a PhD course and give a better idea as to how you would apply your studies to real life situations or scenarios.
