I had finished the previous post at a teething phase. A lot changed post that. I went back to University with a goal to ace GRE, prepare an writing sample, complete admission essays and submit my PhD application by early December. I did register for GRE with the same josh. But post that, only as I started researching about top econ schools, PhD admissions, acceptance rate etc, it dawned upon me that how utterly under qualified I am for a PhD admit.
Initially, when current PhD scholars shared with me the admission committee’s expectations, it seemed like gate keeping. One, I need a letter of recommendation from an Ivy League professor to get an Ivy League admit. Second, the list of required coursework was extensive and predominantly quantitative / mathematical. I knew that I don’t and won’t be able to meet these requirements in the near future.
So what do I do next? Settle for a PhD in Indian universities? Get a job? Along with this, there indeed was the ever present question, what am I doing? Why am I doing what am doing?!
That’s also when, I started thinking about my research question. My mindset was influenced by the capstone project at the Takshashila Institute. You pick up a policy problem, analyse it and give policy recommendations. Most of the policy briefs I have seen so far weren’t quantitative. Consequently, my understanding at that point was, I am a policy professional, I will be working in public finance and economics credentials are just my entry ticket to that field. I need to understand public finance, its history, major schools of thought etc. If at all needed, I will learn the quantitative (econometric) part that is relevant as required. So learning quant intensive topics like real analysis, approaching micro economics purely through mathematical models etc for PhD preparation as well as part of PhD coursework seemed excessive.
So I felt a even wider gap between what I wanted to be and what I am doing. But all of this changed in the recent months. 3 important events led to this change.
One, Workshop on Micro-econometric Modelling using large scale data organised by School of Economics, University of Hyderabad. Prof. S Madheswaran, ISEC, Dr. Balakrushna Padhi, BITS Pilani and Prof. Jajati K Parida, Univ of Hyderabad were the resource persons. Sessions by Balakrushna and Jajati sir focused on analysis of NSS, PLFS, NFHS survey data. I have been aware of such surveys but this session was an in-depth introduction to he enormity and richness of that data. Whatever policy recommendations that I have been talking about earlier ultimately hinge on these on-ground data. Hence, it is pertinent that I understand them and be comfortable analysing them and guess what? I need econometrics to understand these. It was an eye opening moment. Sessions by Prof. Madheswaran as part of this workshop were inspiring and also gave me a new perspective on econometrics as I have outlined here.
Next, I visited Delhi to attend the Mid Year economic review organised by National institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). It has been my aim to work at NIPFP even before I joined my masters but that was an view from outside. The mid year review is a trivial event for the institute but it was an golden opportunity for me to visit the place, meet alumni and make connections. We had a few sessions on recent economic trends and some paper presentations by NIPFP professors. The sessions were chaired by well experienced economists. Participating in the session by itself was an enriching experience but along with that, being in the campus, visiting their library, interacting with various faculties there, was equally important.
That was also the first time I saw “the people” who influence / design Indian economic policy. I met 3 former members of the Monetary Policy Committee, members of Finance Commission etc. I immediately knew that is where I ultimately belong. I also interacted with the Professors there to understand their expectation from prospective applicants. Once more I realised, unlike other public policy fields, Public Finance is deeply situated within Economics and mastery over economics as field is essential.
Finally, the Winter School organised by Delhi School of Economics. This event was attended mostly by PhD students and scholars who were presenting papers and I was a mere spectator. I attended lectures by Prof. Arvind Panagariya, Prof. Samuel Kortum, Prof. Thomas Piketty, Prof. Rohini Pande and Prof. Julia Cage. I also attended a number of paper presentations. It was my peak into what the economics community looks like, how they function, what they value etc. This gave me clarity on two things. One, the expectations of PhD admission committees are not excessive. I understand what I will be doing day-to-day as a scholar and how important econometrics and numerical methods are.
Two, this also helped me identify myself. How I belong to this community and how i stand apart from them. My thoughts and questions I raised after both plenary talks and paper presentations were predominantly policy oriented. Most of the presenters struggled in identifying the policy implications or probable social causes of their findings. They were much better than me in econometric analysis and economic methods but, the numbers should also tell the story behind them. However, my ability to bring in policy perspective will make a difference only when I excel in what others do so well. While I had the broad direction and my long term goals set long back, these recent events helped me lay out my immediate next steps.
From being an hesitant outsider, now I consider myself fully initiated into the world of economics. This is what I want to do! I belong here!
What I have to do is laid out before me! Hopefully I will accomplish them in 2025!