Message Us
Timelines.ai
0
Menu

PHD Economics, Financial, International, Labor

I was raised in Israel and moved to the states at the age of 21. I completed my undergraduate studies at XXXX in 2005 and then my MBA at XXXX. Now, I very much want to study towards the PHD in Economics at XXXX. I am especially interested in doing research in the areas of Financial Economics, International Economics, and Labor Economics. I look forward to serving in a long and distinguished career as a researcher and professor at a university In addition to Hebrew and English, I am also fully fluent in Moroccan and plan to use this ability at some point in my research endeavors.

 I am a very mature young woman and with an extremely diversified background that has provided me with the opportunity to develop extensive analytical capabilities in broad variety of areas. I have hands on experience in the business world since I run my own construction company in addition to my formal education. I am firmly convinced that I have important ideas concerning the economic impact of illegal immigration and I look forward to spending years investigation and writing about this phenomenon. I very much appreciate diversity and have spent important periods of time in Italy, England, Mexico, and Canada,  in addition to Morocco.

 In 2007, I worked on a course project for my senior year developing a plant-design business plan for Chevron. I learned how to perform financial and microeconomic analyses, such as relating the price of soybeans (i.e., the raw material in biodiesel) to fluctuations in the supply and demand. From that point on, I focused on economics and business, financial/market analysis and entrepreneurship. Now I seek to join UXXX’s doctoral program in economics, which will be my cornerstone for business studies and I intend to become a very research-focused professor. 

 I grew up in a family, where academic values and a passion for unconventional learning were instilled from an early age. My parents encouraged me to excel at extracurricular education. At 15, they enrolled me in a Young Mathematics Doctorate program at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, where I mastered the basics of single- and multi-variable calculus as well as linear algebra. After strong performances in college calculus, economics, chemistry and physics courses, I decided to pursue a bachelors in chemical engineering, so as to take advantage of my passion for chemistry, physics and mathematics. I developed strong analytical and research capabilities through individual and group assignments including the Chevron project.

 I gained additional hands-on experience with economic and financial analyses through a position with the Israeli government’s Tourist Office. As Accountant and Project Manager, I took on increasingly complex projects. For example, I helped analyze the travel behaviors of American citizens (through surveys) to understand how different groups such as clergy and member’s spouses arrive at their travel decisions, how to target advertising with Israel-focused commercials. This position helped me to better understand how international economies are intertwined  through trade, immigration, and overseas marketing.

 After graduating from UXXX, I joined XXXX University’s MBA program, where I focused on Finance and Accounting. Graduate-level courses such as International Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) deepened my interest in finance and economic principles. I especially enjoyed coursework that pushed me beyond the lecture material and providing research opportunities through individual and group assignments. For example, for a Mergers and Acquisitions project, I analyzed oil industry acquisition of foreign companies for multinational diversification purposes. I learned that many M&A transactions fail as a result of poor integration since many acquirers focus only on prices and fail to take into account other key factors such as management teams, operations, and culture. One of the most memorable lessons I have learned is that it is harder to recover from underpaying for the wrong company than it is to recover from overpaying for the right one.

 I have also learned economics in the context of entrepreneurship since my husband and I founded a home improvement business in 2006. By late 2007, however, as real estate values declined, defaults on mortgages and consequent foreclosures contributed directly to the collapse of giant institutions such as Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers. It also meant the end of steady demand for our company’s services. While many of our competitors folded their operations, we made strategic changes including targeting a more affluent clientele that could pay out of pocket (rather than using home equity) through alliances with interior designers and narrowing our service offerings to a niche in room additions and home automations. Such moves have helped us maintain profitability in this challenging time. I realize that the science of economic predictions can and should be perfected and I am eager to make my contribution to the field in hopes of helping individuals and families survive future economic crises.

 Working as an administrator at XXU, assisting Faculty Affairs Associates with responsibilities related to procedures for faculty tenure, rank, and sabbaticals, I have gained an inside perspective on academia that has deepened my desire to become a professor since I have been inspired by the lifelong commitment to learning of my colleagues and have very much enjoyed nearly constant intellectual stimulation.  

I am excited about pursuing research in several related areas of economics, mainly: financial, international, and labor economics. I am especially intrigued by the effect of illegal immigration on the US labor market and federal budget, especially since many of the estimated millions of illegal immigrants open small businesses without paying self-employment taxes or contributing to pension plans. This results in federal losses, as services are provided to non-tax-paying residents. Nevertheless, I also study the way in which many of these residents perform many important services at the lower end of the work spectrum (e.g., sanitation, childcare), which has many positive effects on our economy. My research interests parallel many of those of professor XXXX and I look forward to benefitting from his extensive knowledge concerning international immigration, labor markets and the consequence of globalization. I especially enjoyed reading his paper “The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States.”

 I am also very much engaged with the economic aspects of Middle East conflicts. My father was injured in both the Yom Kippur War and the first Lebanon War and has suffered from PTSD ever since. We faced challenging times since it was difficult for my father to maintain a steady job and support a family of six on army disability income. I find Professor XXXX’s research in the field fascinating and I will be honored to learn from his extensive experience and diverse background. I specifically enjoyed his working paper titled “Hamas, Taliban and the Jewish Underground: an Economist’s View of Radical religious Militias.” I enjoy the way that Professor XXXX models the behavior of radical religious militias and suggests a constructive strategy for limiting militia activities through economic development and aid to stabilize governments which provide local public goods in an unbiased manner.

 I keenly anticipate studying in depth the factors behind successful mergers and acquisitions, as well as lending practices, the volume, quality, and outcomes of M&A transactions.  I especially look forward to studying with with Professor XXXX as a result of his extensive research on international trade, foreign investment, and multinational enterprises, especially in the areas of productivity estimation and information economics. UXX’s economics PhD program is my first choice because of its outstanding faculty and interdisciplinary approach. Working with such mentors will help me reach my goal of becoming an economics professor at a research-focused university. My academic and professional experience has given a strong academic foundation and the analytical skills and passion for economics analysis and research. I believe that I have a unique blend of experiences that will help me tackle tasks from a creative and original point of view.

Go Back