Why I Am Interested in Economics

Economic theories are all based on assumptions. Assumptions that all firms and individuals will act “rationally”. Assumptions that individuals will always act in a way that advances their personal agenda, or that firms will always chase the profit that will best line their pockets. We call economics a social science, because it is, to me, the study of people. Not one person is the same, every person has a different upbringing, a different political, economic, or societal background. This is where my intrigue in economics lay, in the reality that no matter what assumptions we make, there will always be a ‘what if’, or a possible answer to the question ‘why’.

As someone who hates the dreaded answer of it is’ when querying the reason behind an answer or principle, this is an attractive proposition.

In my first foray in wider reading, Ha Joong Chang’s “The User Guide”, I was introduced to the nine schools of economics, each with differing views and a different emphasis.

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Following the authors advice, I was lead to further investigating the Austrian, Neoclassical, Institutionalist, and my personal favorite, Behavioralist schools; based on my interest in interactions between society and individuals. I was introduced to some ideas not on curriculum, such as the “multiple-self problem”, whereby individuals make different decisions to the same problem dependent on its contextual setting. It became obvious to me after this section, along with attendance to Bath University’s social science workshop, that my interest lay predominantly in the behavioral economics area, despite little interest in psychology.

To be completely honest, I will not pretend I understood all of what was written, but enough to pique further interest in the topic.

To further enhance my knowledge of working in a professional environment, I attended a work experience placement in the strategy and planning department of Cardiff University. In this placement I was tasked with data analysis assignments, one of which was analysis of data unreleased to the public. The most important skill developed in this situation was the ability to ask for help. Only by working with others on the team was I able to complete the task set for me and by being willing to ask for assistance for methods unknown to me, such as various Excel formulae.

In regards to non-academics, my main extra-curricular activity since the age of six is the practice of the martial art Tae-kwon-do, in which I earned a black belt at the age of 11. I also have an interest in collecting and restoring vintage writing instruments, such as fountain pens, in my spare time. I have been attending the gym regularly, with the goal of improving myself mentally and physically. In between these activities I have an interest in the assembly and disassembly of desktop computers, of which I have assembled many for family and friends.

I would say my main skills lay in communication and interacting with others, where I feel confident in conveying my opinions and feelings on a topic. I am notorious in my friend group as the one to speak up for things where perhaps others would not feel comfortable doing so. I attribute this to the fact that I am Welsh-English bilingual, and have debated in both languages. The most recent debate being the Cardiff Schools’ debate, in which my partner and I got to the finals. Through these and critical thinking classes, I also feel I’ve developed the ability of acute analysis, and able to view situations from others’ viewpoints, which I foresee being useful for such a subjective subject.

I wish to use university education as a tool to further enhance my knowledge of a subject I find intriguing, especially considering the fact that for a lot of discussion points, the right answer will be the one that I can justify thoroughly. To me, economics is a subject that is ever changing, and thus provides an everlasting bank of knowledge to learn from.