Personal Statement of Purpose

I am interested in a Ph.D. program in Industrial Organization at the Department of Economics of XX University. There is no need to emphasize both the excellence and the competitiveness of your program, XX being one of the few most prestigious universities in and outside the United States. As a graduating student of XX University, I have confidence in proving myself a worthy candidate for your highly respected program.

Throughout my undergraduate program at School of Economics, I have developed important backgrounds for my intended field of study in terms of academic study, research, and practical experience. Academically, I have done a comprehensive coursework in economics, with an overall GPA of 3.56 and a major GPA of 88/100, ranked top 7 in a class of 45 students. Considering the competitiveness characteristic of XX University, it is quite an achievement in itself. In terms of industrial organization, I have studied a list of courses highly relevant to my intended program—International Economics, International Trade, Macroeconomics, Mathematical Economics, Management of Multinational Company, and Western Finance—
in all of which I scored over 90 points. I have also done well in supporting courses like Industrial Economics, Developmental Economics, International Finance, and Finance, with scores all above 85 points. I have familiarized me with classics in economics like Economics (16th edition) by Paul A. Samuelson & William D. Nordhaus and A Primer in Game Theory by Robert Gibbons. 

Achieving high scores has never been a purpose in itself. What really matters is the knowledge I have learned. Apart from developing analytical skills, I have learned how government and financial institutions base their policies and decisions and how theories of economics can be applied to corporate management. I have gained insights into studying the merits of government decision-making processes. Furthermore, I have developed special proficiency in mathematics, excelling in calculus (I & II), linear algebra, probability theory and mathematical statistics, statistics, and econometrics. Three courses in the next semester, mathematical analysis, real analysis, and measure-theoretic probability theory, will further add to my proficiency.

As a student of a research-oriented university, I have developed my research aptitudes by writing about a dozen papers while learning individual courses (please refer to my Resume). My knowledge of international economy allowed me to explore the possibility of China’s becoming the “world factory.” I analyzed the scale of China’s foreign exchange reserves and predicted about the trends of RMB exchange rate based on my knowledge in international finance. Monetary Banking called my attention to the possible impacts that foreign-capital banks would produce on China’s banking industry while multinational company theories motivated me to study how Chinese enterprises can expand on the overseas market. Industrial economics has taught me how to analyze the formation of industrial clusters of medium and small enterprises by applying principles in econometrics, and I studied how the changes in Chinese citizens’ income could affect the country’s tourism. At our department’s regular workshops and seminars, I made presentations on some of my papers.

My research capacity has been further developed by undertaking my thesis XX. My thesis investigates the implications of the localization strategy adopted by US multinationals, the huge business successes they have achieved through the strategy and demonstrates that localization, far from being a temporary expedient, has been an elaborately designed global strategy which initiates the threefold victory of US multinationals, the Chinese government, and Chinese enterprises. As I have completed my thesis much earlier than my classmates, I have submitted it, with necessary adaptations, to the journal XX, which will be published in the January Issue next year.

My off-campus practices are closely related to our country’s social realities. As a junior student, I worked as RA to my teacher of Developmental Economics by designing questionnaires and performing surveys concerning the life conditions of migrant workers from rural areas who now work around XX University. In the report I presented, I proposed possible policies that the government can adopt to regulate the farm labor across major Chinese cities. In addition, I have done internship during several summer and winter vacations at the Customer Service Department of XX Bank (XX Branch) where I classified customers according to their professions. I provided analysis of the customers’ professional information so that the top management could find it easier to carry out customers management.

With those qualifications, I would like to make an in-depth study of Industrial Organization through a Ph. D. program. My interest can be explained first by my academic background in economics, my research and internship experiences in corporate institutions. My motivation is also related to the fact that the United States, with its perfect market economy system, can offer the most comprehensive study of industrial organizations. Your useful experiences can shed light on Chinese economic phenomena and on understanding the opportunities and challenges that Chinese corporations face.

I am fascinated by XX’s Department of Economics because in, your dynamic intellectual environment, your faculty covers a broad range of research and teaching interests, spanning the whole spectrum of economics, including my interest in how to assimilate experiences in developed economies to developing economies in the field of industrial organization. What I appreciate most about your faculty is that you have no XX Dogma and your methodologies and views of economics are highly eclectic. In your stimulating community, I can not only learn from an experienced faculty whose guidance will be tailored to my needs but also learn from talented students from across the world. Coming from XX University, I am ready to face challenges and to excel under pressure.

My study plan consists of three steps. I will do intensive coursework in mathematics, economic theories and econometrics in the first year and in advanced econometrics, industrial organization and regulation, and public choice in the second year. From the third year, I wish to participate in workshops, seminars, and research projects and on research paper.

Upon completing your Ph.D. program, I wish to pursue my career objectives by working in the field of corporate consulting. I will research on the structure of markets and the behavior of firms, to what extent the government should intervene in economic development, and how China can create multinational companies overseas. As China gradually implements a market economy, professionals in industrial organization with first-rate education in the United States will certainly be most sought after.