Hi everyone, I am applying for a Scholarship to study at Lancaster and would appreciate as much critique on my essay.
I could still remember the image of the young boy eating his plate of rice as though it was his first in days and his last for days to come. His tattered faded brown shorts spoke of the malaise he had endured in his short life. The saddening images of the events that had taken place that day were still so vivid in my mind as I walked the dusty path to a house that reeked of bat excreta. Although I had walked the path twice before, this time the muffling sound of the flowing Mambilima River metres away was only white noise to my ears. Not once did I stop, as I had done before, to gaze at the sun setting magnificently above the glistening river. Instead, I could only hear the physiotherapist lament the abuses the children had been through. I heard the caretakers yell at the disabled children to hurry to their seats. Instead, I saw villagers scurrying for left over food and take them home for their children to eat. I couldn't help but feel saddened and upset as the images flashed before my eyes. My experiences that week at Mambilima Special School for the disabled moved me deeply and feelings of helplessness soon turned into a fiery passion to make a difference. I soon realised that the poverty I witnessed at Mambilima was a testament of the prevalence of severe scarcity and poor income distribution in the country. This drew me to study economics because Economists are able to explain and affect people's livelihood. In my opinion, Economics is about understanding people as consumers, producers, competitors and above all as human beings with innate emotions. This inherent proximity to everyday life fascinates me the most.
I have always enjoyed and been strong in areas that require problem solving, analytical and mathematical skills so I was anxious to combine my aptitude for these skills with my interest in economics. As a result, I chose to study Economics in combination with Finance for my undergraduate degree because these fields complement each other exceptionally well. My final year dissertation on "Determinants of Aggregate Import Demand in Zambia" gave a better understanding of the dynamics of the Zambian Economy. And recently, I have found this useful as I write a paper at the Bank of Zambia on "Time Series Properties and Volatility of Kwacha Exchange Rates". The purpose of this study is to help broaden the assessments of policymakers and add to the volume of work on this topic.
While employed at the Bank of Zambia, I have come to understand some of the challenges and opportunities that policymakers face especially in implementing policy that seeks to improve the livelihood of Zambia's poorest people. One of the pertinent issues in Zambia and the world-over is the development of efficient and resilient financial markets. It is a well known fact that a well developed financial market improves economic performance through the development of financial products that allow effective allocation of saving to enable more investment in the economy. Efficient financial markets also provide more opportunities for poor people to participate in the economy through the elimination of information asymmetry. Thus in the long run, I would like to contribute to the development of financial markets by working as a Financial Economist at a Central Bank or other financial institution and studying the MPhil in Economics at Lancaster will be the beginning of my intellectual odyssey. In the second year of the program I would like to conduct research on Stochastic Volatility models, Exchange rates and Microstructure effects of Foreign Exchange markets especially in the context of Zambia. I have communicated my research interest with Dr Peter Saints in the faculty of Economics at Lancaster who thought it would be interesting. At present there are few studies that I have come across during my research that use stochastic volatility models and microstructure effects to analyse the behaviour of Kwacha exchange rates. What attracts me most to the economics program at Lancaster is the wealth of world-renown academic researchers and the department's reputation for producing high quality of research. I am confident that this environment meets my research expectations. Moreover, the program's pedagogy trains students to use research skills and encourages them to think critically about their work.
I could still remember the image of the young boy eating his plate of rice as though it was his first in days and his last for days to come. His tattered faded brown shorts spoke of the malaise he had endured in his short life. The saddening images of the events that had taken place that day were still so vivid in my mind as I walked the dusty path to a house that reeked of bat excreta. Although I had walked the path twice before, this time the muffling sound of the flowing Mambilima River metres away was only white noise to my ears. Not once did I stop, as I had done before, to gaze at the sun setting magnificently above the glistening river. Instead, I could only hear the physiotherapist lament the abuses the children had been through. I heard the caretakers yell at the disabled children to hurry to their seats. Instead, I saw villagers scurrying for left over food and take them home for their children to eat. I couldn't help but feel saddened and upset as the images flashed before my eyes. My experiences that week at Mambilima Special School for the disabled moved me deeply and feelings of helplessness soon turned into a fiery passion to make a difference. I soon realised that the poverty I witnessed at Mambilima was a testament of the prevalence of severe scarcity and poor income distribution in the country. This drew me to study economics because Economists are able to explain and affect people's livelihood. In my opinion, Economics is about understanding people as consumers, producers, competitors and above all as human beings with innate emotions. This inherent proximity to everyday life fascinates me the most.
I have always enjoyed and been strong in areas that require problem solving, analytical and mathematical skills so I was anxious to combine my aptitude for these skills with my interest in economics. As a result, I chose to study Economics in combination with Finance for my undergraduate degree because these fields complement each other exceptionally well. My final year dissertation on "Determinants of Aggregate Import Demand in Zambia" gave a better understanding of the dynamics of the Zambian Economy. And recently, I have found this useful as I write a paper at the Bank of Zambia on "Time Series Properties and Volatility of Kwacha Exchange Rates". The purpose of this study is to help broaden the assessments of policymakers and add to the volume of work on this topic.
While employed at the Bank of Zambia, I have come to understand some of the challenges and opportunities that policymakers face especially in implementing policy that seeks to improve the livelihood of Zambia's poorest people. One of the pertinent issues in Zambia and the world-over is the development of efficient and resilient financial markets. It is a well known fact that a well developed financial market improves economic performance through the development of financial products that allow effective allocation of saving to enable more investment in the economy. Efficient financial markets also provide more opportunities for poor people to participate in the economy through the elimination of information asymmetry. Thus in the long run, I would like to contribute to the development of financial markets by working as a Financial Economist at a Central Bank or other financial institution and studying the MPhil in Economics at Lancaster will be the beginning of my intellectual odyssey. In the second year of the program I would like to conduct research on Stochastic Volatility models, Exchange rates and Microstructure effects of Foreign Exchange markets especially in the context of Zambia. I have communicated my research interest with Dr Peter Saints in the faculty of Economics at Lancaster who thought it would be interesting. At present there are few studies that I have come across during my research that use stochastic volatility models and microstructure effects to analyse the behaviour of Kwacha exchange rates. What attracts me most to the economics program at Lancaster is the wealth of world-renown academic researchers and the department's reputation for producing high quality of research. I am confident that this environment meets my research expectations. Moreover, the program's pedagogy trains students to use research skills and encourages them to think critically about their work.
