The following personal statement is written by an applicant who got accepted to Masters’s program in Local Economic Development at London School of Economics. Read this essay to understand what a top Personal Statement in economics should look like.

Sample Personal Statement for LSE

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher.

As a child, my daily routine composed of attending school, helping with household chores, and learning embroidery. For all I knew, this was how girls lived in rural Balochistan. However, when I was 15, my family shifted to urban Karachi, where I saw a new world. The new moon of this unique place brought a lot of challenges with itself. I did not know how to converse with my privileged peers, and I had to study extra hours to compete with them. But the most shocking realization was that there was no trace of my previous lifestyle in this city, and girls had very different aspirations here compared to those in my village.

Harsh realities of chronic poverty, income inequality, and persistent unemployment are widespread in Pakistan, but the situation is even worse in my native Balochistan. Despite being rich in natural resources, nearly all Balochis live below the poverty line. As one of the few educated Balochis who has experienced hunger, I have always considered it a personal responsibility to play an active role in resolving the economic challenges of this province.

With this ardent desire, I joined Chief Minister’s Policy Reform Unit (CMPRU) as an economist research officer in Balochistan. My experience at the CMPRU, which provides policy support to Balochistan Chief Minister’s office, has been invaluable. Working directly with the Government’s economic advisors has enlightened me about the practical implications of economic theories. I have played a lead role in preparing a concept note called “Proposed Balochistan Development Vision and Strategy” for the development of primary sectors using the ‘Big Push’ and ‘Unbalanced’ growth theories. I used demographics and economic variables for identifying Rural and Urban Growth Nodes, i.e., selected areas where the development effort will be concentrated. District-wise data was used to build the primary economy of the province, which in turn would trigger growth in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.

At CMPRU, I also conducted in-depth research on the ‘State of School Education in Balochistan’ and proposed actionable recommendations to improve school education. The output variables (student performance of grades five to ten) were correlated with input variables (school facilities) to analyze the data on education. The findings convinced the education department to opt for multi-room, multi-teacher schools instead of one-room, one-teacher schools, which were strengthened using distance learning techniques. The results of my work were also published in “The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press”.

I particularly enjoyed this research work because it was an extension of a cause I previously worked passionately for – the ‘Strengthening Poverty Reduction Strategy Monitoring Project’ (SPRSM). At SPRSM, I was engaged in a pro-poor and gender analysis of the provincial budget of the Government of Balochistan. My work revealed how the provincial budget is being used as a powerful tool to favour the males over the females and how the poor choices of government spending enhanced gender inequity. For example, constructing more boys’ schools was creating education inequality. The Planning & Development Department and key Ministries brought my work to light as a landmark study, and its findings were incorporated into the forthcoming budget.

Balochistan remains stagnant in the pre-industrial era and the grip of a robust military insurgency. Unfortunately, the people of Balochistan have never been taken on board while deciding their province’s fate; consequently, an armed struggle in the region continues to date. Currently, the Federal Government has agreed to give control of the Gwadar Port to a Chinese company on 43 years lease, and similar sentiments are surfacing in local stakeholders as they feel distanced from important decisions. When bottom-up economic policies are used to initiate the decision-making process, we will be able to see better results.

My experiences have convinced me of the importance of Economics in the socioeconomic development of a society. Consequently, I have decided to pursue an MSc in Local Economic Development at LSE, where I wish to seek and explore the contextualized definition of development from the point of view of indigenous people in Balochistan. Balochistan, being in the nascent stage of economic development, requires a unique development model to reap the benefits. The particular focus of LSE’s program on policy frameworks for local economies will enable me to devise the right policy interventions to spur economic growth in the province.

Working directly with the Chief Minister Balochistan Office and having the mandate to advise the Government on its policymaking, I have identified specific areas where I wish to make a significant impact after completing my LSE degree. For example, NGOs in Balochistan conduct pre-budget consultations every year to force provincial governments to make citizen-friendly budgets and increase the size of the Annual Development Plan. However, such efforts are not bringing any change. I regard this failure as a lack of technical expertise of the NGOs and the absence of their initial formal economic analysis of past government spending behaviours.

Following this rigorous and insightful MSc program, I feel I would be better equipped to trace the gaps and inefficiencies in budget-making and suggest ways to eliminate their inefficiencies.
Furthermore, connections made with alumni, students and teachers at LSE will help me learn more about solutions others have implemented in other countries and then adapt them to Balochistan. I will also be able to use this platform to pique people working in Balochistan and forge partnerships with local NGOs and government institutions in other countries.

LSE will allow me to live in a multicultural setting and learn from other cultures. Moreover, it will let me tell people about life in Balochistan. Through this degree, I aim to complement my experience with a broad-based economic education and analytical tools that not only provide me with an academic foundation but also enable me to tackle real-world economic problems. I firmly believe that our economic policies should protect our wealth and resources and promote open markets and economic growth.