The path that led me to research in economics

As you grow older, the monotonous questions that people ask you tend to change. Earlier, people would ask me, “What do you study?” But now, I’ve reached the stage where they’ve taken to asking – What do you do for a living? Working as a research assistant in the field of economics is, to say the least, not what they expect. The obvious question that follows is “Why?” And the answer is not that straightforward. 
 

In my experience, I have noticed that those who currently study (or have studied) economics often cite world-renowned economists and their theories as their inspiration for becoming attached to this supposedly unflattering science. Somehow, it feels like I fell short in this regard. All through high school, for me, economics just seemed to be the easier option as compared to the hard sciences. And this was my general motivation behind pursuing economics until my third year of college.

What grabbed my attention in my final year of college, was not a complex or elegant theory. Rather, it was the social problem of inequality that continues to prevail in the city that I live in. Mumbai, for all its prosperity is home to one of the largest slums in Asia and is a prime example of a city where stark inequality continues to coherently exist. Travelling a mere distance of 1 kilometre in the city can take you from one end of the poverty spectrum to the other.

I often wondered why the society I live in lacked enough balance to allow for at least a more comfortable lifestyle than what a significant portion of the population experiences. Was this society’s current status based on decisions taken by the people living in it or was it part of some grand design? Economic theory is quite agnostic about this: once a point of balance is reached, any movement from it often leads to an inferior outcome. The structure of society, however, dictates that we begin at an inferior outcome and then try to make decisions that will eventually help us reach some point of balance.

Growth models are popular in economics and are meant to describe how best a nation can achieve higher economic growth (in fact, the winners of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics were recognized for improving growth theories). One such model of growth, the Harrod-Domar model, was adopted by India for its first five-year plan from 1951-56. When I heard this in class, it brought me to the realization that the decision to follow such a plan has led India to it is today, as a country. It was at this moment that I became thoroughly engrossed with economics and knew that I wanted to continue studying it. I was fascinated and pulled in by the potential ability to reimagine and create a better society through the use of theoretical economics. However, as any economist will tell you, the intention rarely makes the difference; what matters is the implementation!

It was not until the third semester of my Master’s that I came to grips with which specific subfield of economics I wanted to explore. I chose to study urban economics as an elective, and it helped me understand how much the economics around my city influences the day-to-day activities of its people. The prices of land and housing, transport, basic public utilities, and so forth dictate where, why, and how people live their lives. Knowing that I could potentially contribute and try to bring about a minimal change to the way people experience their everyday lives was what nudged me towards research.

Although the topic for my dissertation was far from anything in the urban sphere, it introduced me to academic writing. Working through this paper made me realize how much more there is to academic writing and how it vastly differed from any other form of writing I was previously accustomed to. The ability to develop novel approaches to express your ideas is not learned overnight and with that I realized that learning how to conduct rigorous research should be my next step. 

And that is how I started working at Monk Prayogshala, a not-for-profit academic research organization. It has given me the opportunity to learn and improve upon several aspects that fall under rigorous research, be it carrying out thorough literature reviews or analyzing extensive data. More importantly, it gave me a platform to interact with people that work in multiple, different fields. It allowed me to view my ideas from completely different angles owing to the presence of people coming from multiple disciplines and the interdisciplinary work that characterizes research in this organization.

In sum, I’d like to say that conducting academic research has helped me gain perspective about the magnitude of learning potential involved in the effective formulation and application of policy. For this reason, going forward, I’d like to theoretically understand the ins and outs of policy formulation. I believe that finding a cohesive balance between economics and governance would bring about a minimal change in the way that the people around me experience their everyday lives. I understand that expressing my ideas in a written format may not be the most practical way of helping the people around me bring about a change in their lives. However, it allows me to envision a world where theoretical solutions can help bring about a greater equitable balance to society. So I intend to keep working towards this and hope for the best!