Dual Degree Application: MSc in Applied Economics (CUHK) and MS in Social and Economic Policy (Northwestern University)

Growing up as the daughter of the first secretary of a village in the North China Plain, I witnessed firsthand the impact of development on my father's village. From my childhood to now, as a college student about to graduate and apply for a postgraduate degree, I have always been deeply connected to this small village and its progress. The transformation of the village from a run-down area to a prosperous community has been an inspiration for me.

In my father's first year as the first secretary, there were still two villagers who had not escaped poverty. With the help of successful cases and careful planning, my father introduced new black corn varieties to these villagers. He also assisted them in contacting grain buyers in advance. Under his guidance, the villagers diligently cared for the new corn types. Their hard work paid off when they achieved a doubled income and poverty alleviation through the bountiful corn harvest. Despite this progress, changing the mindset of the villagers proved to be a complex challenge.

During that time, the eldest daughter of one of the farmers and I participated in the college entrance examination. She achieved outstanding results, demonstrating her intelligence and potential. However, her father believed that pursuing higher education was useless, especially for girls. He insisted that she enter the factory early to contribute to the family's income. Recognizing her potential, I was determined to convince both her and her father. With my father's support, her father eventually agreed to help her apply for student loans. In the end, both she and I were admitted to our favorite university, with her studying agriculture.

The joy of tasting the first ripe crop of corn in that farmer's home, along with receiving our admission letters, will forever remain etched in my memory. This experience fueled my curiosity and ambition to understand the causes of poverty and to find ways to lift rural people out of impoverishment, improve farmers' livelihoods, and provide rural children with more opportunities for higher education.

With these aspirations in mind, I made the decision to transfer to the Institute for Economic and Social Research (IESR) in my sophomore year. This choice has proven to be the most correct decision I have made in the past twenty years.

To address my questions and concerns, I turned to my mentor, Associate Professor Li Chengzheng, the vice president of the Rural Revitalization Research Institute. He advised me to read 'The Essence of Poverty' by XXX, which provided valuable insights on the issue. The author argues that one of the main reasons poverty is difficult to solve is due to the cycle of poverty itself. This led me to believe that breaking this cycle is the first step toward poverty alleviation. But how can this cycle be broken?

In pursuit of answers, I attended every lecture on rural revitalization given by Professor Wen Tiejun at the Rural Revitalization Research Institute. I also chose to take elective courses such as Agricultural Economics, Development Economics, Public Economics and Social Security, and Research on Chinese Economic Issues.

In my Development Economics class, I read the paper 'Cash or Condition? Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment.' The author states that conditional cash transfers can improve education levels, while unconditional cash transfers can enhance the welfare of young women and reduce early marriage and childbirth.

For my presentation in the course on Chinese Economic Issues, I chose to explore 'Rural Reforms and Agricultural Growth in China' and discussed the household responsibility system. The paper points out that the rapid growth of agricultural output from 1978 to 1984 was mainly attributed to the reform of the household responsibility system and the significant increase in the use of chemical fertilizers.

In my Agricultural Economics class, the teacher mentioned 'The Effect of Microinsurance on Economic Activities: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment.' Intrigued by this research, I presented it in my Public Economics and Social Security class. The paper reveals that promoting greater adoption of insurance significantly increases farmers' sow production, with this effect persisting in the longer term.

In addition to my relentless exploration of poverty-related issues, I have acquired a solid foundation in economics at IESR and received rigorous academic training. I have developed proficiency in mathematics, completed courses in advanced microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, and econometrics, and acquired programming skills using software such as Stata and Python. I have also completed a comprehensive research paper titled 'The Health Impact of Fine Particulate Matter in China: Evidence from COVID-19,' using thermal inversion days as an instrumental variable (IV) to estimate the effect of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution on COVID-19 death rates. In the process of writing this paper, I self-taught GIS software to create distance variables and address endogeneity issues. In addition to my academic pursuits, I have actively served as a research assistant and teaching assistant, assisting professors in their research and teaching.

The CUHK Department of Economics is renowned for its leading research on Chinese economic issues, making it the ideal institution for further enhancing my knowledge of economics. Northwestern University, ranked ninth-best in the US, boasts a world-renowned School of Education and Social Policy, ranked eighth-best in the US, focusing on social, educational, and economic policy studies. I believe that understanding the essence of poverty and formulating appropriate policies to help lift people out of poverty is essential. Therefore, I hope to explore what kind of economic policies can help more individuals escape poverty and further prosper our rural areas at Northwestern University.

I am eager to apply for the Dual Degree - MSc in Applied Economics at CUHK and MS in Social and Economic Policy at Northwestern University because I believe it is the right path for me. My goal is to become a policy maker in civil service and contribute to rural revitalization. IESR has brought me to this point, and I am confident that the Dual Degree program will provide me with further support and opportunities.

One day in the future, I hope to influence my father's village and countless other villages, families, and young individuals in my own way.