Insanity!

Okay, so I'm not sure I meet the criteria for insanity yet, but just to test things here's the latest. I decided to apply for GMU's MA in Economics program. It's something I've been thinking about since before I applied and now is the time to apply. Actually, the time to apply was 3/15, but I went and talked to the staff at GMU's campus in Fairfax and they said that if I got the app in by this week, the admissions board would take a look at it. If you're curious, here's what I told them about why I want to do the MA in Econ.

I left out some preliminary stuff about my background, but here's the rest:

III. Why the MA in Economics?

First, I enjoyed economics as an undergraduate and want to learn more. Intermediate Price Theory 2 was one of my favorite classes at BYU. I loved the models we used for auctions, cartels, monopolies, risk taking, and the time we spent on game theory. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to take Econometrics and loved working with data sets and running regressions in STATA. I am eager to take Econometrics as part of the MA in Economics and hope to become more familiar with and adept at using quantitative methods.

Second, economics provides a set of tools that will inform my analysis of legal questions. Some of the most influential jurists have been those who have used economic principles to analyze the law. The skills I would gain from the MA in Economics would inform my application of legal principles and give me a broader set of tools with which to evaluate legal outcomes and human rights policies.

Finally, An MA in Economics will give me greater economic expertise without the commitment of a PhD program. While I was at BYU, I was a teaching assistant for a Statistics for Economists class. I loved teaching students how to solve problems. It was the greatest feeling to see students go from following you to figuring it out for themselves and applying it in new situations. I have often thought that at some point I would like to enter academia and teach. In the meantime, the MA in Economics would give me practical skills and provide me with more insight about whether I want to pursue a PhD.

IV. Economics at GMU

After graduating from BYU and moving to the DC metropolitan area, I decided to enroll in law school at George Mason University. I came to GMU for both a law degree and economics degree. The law degree will give me the credentials necessary to prosecute human rights violators. The economics degree will help me develop a better understanding of incentives and work with the market to create incentives that protect human rights. With respect to human rights violations, exhortation is not enough. There are people in power, both political and economic, who will not do the right thing no matter how much you ask. I hope to be able to give them reasons to use their power to benefit, rather than abuse, those subject to it. To that end, a law degree will help me have the skills to prosecute those who have already violated human rights, while the economics degree will help me see how to give people, governments, and corporations incentives to avoid human rights violations going forward.