personal statement economics phd

Chris Blattman

Phd applicants: writing your statement of purpose.

• January 11, 2022

I’ve read a lot of personal statements for PhD applications. I sat on admissions at UChicago, Columbia, and Yale, mostly in economics, political science, and public policy. Here’s the advice I’ve given my own students and research assistants to craft their statements. I give it because, sadly, I don’t find most statements helpful. This means they are not helping you, the applicant.

As with all my advice posts, it’s important that students outside elite colleges get this information, so here are some personal thoughts.

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First, let’s clarify your number one job as an applicant: Send the best, clearest signal of your abilities as a future researcher, and minimize the noise around that signal. I explain why in a longer post on whether and how you should apply to PhD programs (including the other elements of an application packet):

the fundamental problems in graduate admissions are “information overload” and “noise”. For every slot in a PhD program, there are probably 30 to 50 applicants. A department that plans to have a class of 20 students may receive 1000 applications. Meanwhile, most departments delegate admissions to a small committee of two to six faculty. They don’t have time to read 1000 applications in detail. And the committee may change every year. Thus, their experience may be limited. And you never know who will be on the committee or what they care about. This adds further randomness. These faculty want to admit the most talented and creative young researchers who will push the field ahead. And they also want you to pass all the most technical classes, because they hate kicking students out. So the admissions committee are looking for strong signals of intelligence, creativity, determination, and other proclivities for research. But this is hard . There are too many applications. Applicants don’t have many good ways to signal quality. All applicants are trying to send the same signals. And there is a ton of uncertainty around each signal. Hence: Information overload and noise.

Yet most schools as for a written statement of some kind. Sometimes they ask for both a biographical statement and a research statement. What do they want and what should you write?

• Don’t tell your life story. This statement is not an undergrad entry essay where you describe your life’s trials and tribulations, or your journey to wanting to do a PhD. It’s not that we don’t care. It’s just that it’s probably not relevant to judging your ability as a researcher. If it is, then weave that into the narrative around your research interests and plans. We have hundreds of these things to read and so you only want to focus on the most important information.
• Don’t be cliché. Do not start your with your epiphany—the day the scales fell from your eyes and you realized you wanted to be a professor, or were inspired tackle big questions and social issues. Especially if it involves a child in a poor country. This approach is overused and unoriginal, and the information does not help us judge whether you will be a great researcher (see point 1).
• Platitudes about wanting to be a professor or researcher
• Generic or flattering statements about being excited to join a program, your admiration for the faculty, etc.
• Unspecific interests in a research subject or field
• Routine information such as “I am graduating in May…”
• Filler sentences like “Please find enclosed…”
• Start with your broad fields of interest (e.g. “I am principally interested in labor and development economics” or “I want to work at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations”)
• Then give 2-3 examples of broad topics and questions that interest you. (“I’m interested in studying inefficiencies in labor markets, especially market power and monopsony. I’m also interested in…”)
• Are tenure or tenure-track faculty
• Have their primary appointment in the department you are applying to
• Are actually there and take students (i.e. they didn’t retire last year, etc.)
• You could discuss two ideas in moderate depth, or one idea in greater depth. Either way, I recommend this research discussion be 40-60% of your entire statement.
• Ideally this is a question or topic of current interest in the field. One thing I often see is that students are focussed on the research frontier 10 years ago (because those are the papers they read in their classes) and are not clued in to some of the current puzzled and priorities. This is hard to avoid, but some reading and your advisors should be able to help you avoid this.
• The best discussions will (if empirical) identify interesting data and discuss plausible empirical strategies. This is difficult, which is why it is a good signal if you do it well.
• It’s important to locate your question in the literature without overdoing that discussion. Try to motivate the question with reference to recent and recognizable research papers and agendas. If you are mainly citing articles with few citations, in lower-ranked journals, this is a sign that you need to link your idea to bigger debates in the field, or perhaps rethink the question you are proposing.
• This is (in my experience) the most crucial section for most social science departments. Except possibly economics. It’s not clear how seriously many departments take your statement in economics, and some of my colleagues profess to never look at the statement. That may be true, but some will look, and you have to have a statement, so I suggest following this advice to make it a research proposal.
• Why you studied physics but now are doing political science
• What happened in that single bad semester on your transcript
• How to interpret your foreign GPA, and where you ranked in your class
• Clarify your classes if they have off names (e.g. “My class called XX was a Real Analysis class using textbook X, and so I have all the mathematical requirements for entry.”
• Get help. Your letter writers, professors you work for, or PhD student you know can read and give feedback on your statements. Ask them for their advice. Do this early–a couple months before the application, ideally. they can help you frame your question in a more interesting way, decide what papers to mention, or what is or is not frontier.
• Don’t be repetitive. This is not the place to restate your CV (“First I worked for Professor… and then I worked for…”). They have your CV. Use this document to do something no other in your application can do. Only mention work or other experience if you can add essential, high-density information the reader cannot get elsewhere in the application packet. Maybe you picked up specific technical skills working on a project that relate to the research proposal you just described? If not, you don’t have to say anything at all about your past. Just let the research proposal speak for itself.
• I recommend using the Hemingway Editor as a tool to write more clearly. Some long and complex sentences are ok, but sparingly. And they can often be improved. Aim for a grade 10 reading level.
• Use active voice
• Omit needless material and words (see points 3 and 9)
• Limit jargon
• Each paragraph should be a distinct idea
• Paragraphs should have a hierarchical structure, with the big idea or general point as the first topic sentence, and the rest of the paragraph elaborates. Someone should be able to get an “executive summary” but simply reading the first line in every paragraph. they should make sense as a story/summary.
• Use subheadings if possible, to delineate sections such as your broad fields of interest (point 4), your research proposal (point 5), and other key information (point 6)

This is just my view. Other professors will have different preferences and advice here. So ask them. Get more opinions. Or put your advice in the comments below.

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Why Earn a PhD in Economics?

A PhD prepares you to do independent research at the frontier of Economics

How to Prepare for a PhD in Economics

Important points when preparing for Graduate school in Economics

Writing Personal Statements

Research Experience

Learn how research is a component of preparing for Graduate school

Getting Useful Letters of Recommendation

PhD Student Funding

In this section, we are going to focus on being a competitive applicant for top Economics PhD programs.  We want our very best undergraduates to have a chance to get into these highly competitive programs right after completing an undergraduate degree.  Preparing for graduate school in Economics can often be a confusing process for students.  The goal of this webpage is to illuminate this process and clarify what is required to be a competitive applicant.  While we emphasize the importance of taking difficult mathematics courses, in general, as you choose less selective Economics PhD programs, you can take fewer upper division mathematics classes and still be a competitive applicant. 

Of course, a PhD in Economics is not for everyone and we want you to pursue a career path that is right for YOU.  For great resources about careers, please see UCSD Career Services Center .

There are also many PhD and MA programs outside of economics (in finance, business, public policy, data analytics, business analytics, data science, etc.) that you may be more interested in and be well qualified for.  Please speak with our Vice Chair for Undergraduate Education and other economics faculty about any higher education program you are interested in and get their advice about what it will take for you to be to be a competitive applicant.

First Steps

A key requirement for earning a PhD is that your dissertation provides new knowledge that moves out the frontier of the profession

Why earn a PhD in Economics?

The key thing you need to know is that PhD programs in economics are highly mathematical

It is a great idea to talk to someone who was just in your shoes not too long ago!

Talking to a UCSD grad

Preparing your application.

Conducting Research with a professor or graduate student will help prepare you for graduate school and can help you gain useful letters of recommendation

Letters from faculty members who know you well are the most useful letters for gaining admission to top 30 PhD and MA programs

While the prompts vary across schools, generally a personal statement will ask you to describe your research interests, qualifications, and career goals.

More Resources

Even though most graduate programs come with funding, it is potentially a good idea to apply for outside funding as well

Read the common questions about Economics Phd programs

Advice and more information from some external sources

Helpful Links

7 Economics Personal Statement Examples | With Analysis

What makes a great personal statement?

How do you improve your chances of achieving a university offer in economics?

In this post I will give some personal statement examples and discuss what the best economics personal statements do well.

Key features that great personal statements share

Disclaimers, evolution of economics personal statements, what makes a great economics personal statement, key features that great personal statements share: a reminder, lots of supercurricular activities, personal insights about such activities, demonstrate key skills, a well written essay, more economics personal statement advice, latest posts.

This diagram shows my summary of what makes a great economics personal statement. Based on my experience as an economics tutor and economics personal statement examples, here are four qualities that make personal statements stand out.

I explore these categories further below and in my ultimate economics personal statement guide.

For my ultimate economics personal statement guide, check out the link below:

Firstly, here is a list of ten economics personal statement examples available online.

Also below, there is analysis of what makes a great economics personal statement.

To learn how to improve your economics personal statement, check out the link below by clicking the blue button:

I cannot guarantee that the personal statements linked above achieved the university offers claimed on those pages. Nor can I claim that each statement is 100% perfect.

By linking to these sites, I do not endorse any of the sites linked above.

You should not copy any part of the personal statements above. Doing so is plagiarism and can lead to the disqualification of your university application. Instead learn from the techniques and kinds of things mentioned in their statements. See specifically the rest of this article for what we can learn from these personal statements.

A proportion of the samples above are relatively old (five to ten years ago or more).

For some universities the personal statement is more important for applications. Consider for example LSE and UCL, top universities where there are no admissions tests or interviews.

We can look at more recently written and publicly available personal statements.

Based on these, here are some observable trends in recent years among the best performing economics personal statements:

• More supercurriculars relative to the above personal statements.
• More reference to undergraduate-level economic theory. This can show further reading and an ability to potentially do well in the undergraduate course.

In this section I am drawing on my experience as a tutor about what makes a great personal statement. I am also using the available online examples of economics personal statements and the criteria listed by the top UK universities.

Such statements are by no means always perfect, yet they show the qualities and skills that allow students to attend the best universities.

These examples allow us to analyse what makes a great personal statement and also where students often go wrong with personal statements.

As a reminder, here are the four features of great economics personal statements mentioned above:

• Lots of supercurriculars
• Highlighting key skills
• Personal takeaways

Here is a breakdown of these categories:

What activities have you completed, outside of class, that relate to economics? Have you read a book, entered an economics-related competition, or watched an economics lecture? These are examples of supercurricular activities. I consider these a key focus for the best personal statements and I discuss these further in my economics personal statement ebook. These show your motivation to study economics which will be critical if you want to study the subject for three years at university.

For more on supercurricular activities, click the link here:

These are what I refer to as “personal takeaways” later in this guide. What did you learn from the supercurricular activity? Detail is very important, both for showing a high level of understanding and also to convince the person reading your statement that you actually completed the activity. This should go beyond just recalling the activity – maybe there is something you learnt from this activity or something you read that you disagreed with. We discuss how to write about personal takeaways in the ebook.

For more information about how to use supercurricular activities in your statement, including how to generate personal insights, click this button below:

Obviously you should try to show academic ability in economics and motivation to study economics. But what other skills are useful to show in a personal statement? 

While there are many skills that could potentially be useful, I draw your attention for now to two key skills: Ability in mathematics and independent study (including research). Evidence from supercurricular activities that you have these skills will help convince admissions staff. Moreover these skills will help you in the economics course.

What constitutes a “well written essay”? 

Your personal statement should be well structured, with effective links between ideas and paragraphs. The grammar should be completely correct, that is  there should be no mistakes. 

Finally consider your vocabulary – can you embed economics-related terminology into your personal statement? You can use a thesaurus but do so with caution – sometimes it is obvious where a thesaurus has been used (and often the new word used does not make sense in that context!).

For more economics personal statement tips or for economics university application advice, check out the link below:

For A-level Economics resources, click the link here:

• 2.2 Aggregate demand notes for Edexcel A Economics
• 2.1.2 Inflation Edexcel A Economics Notes
• Don’t be fooled! How to understand economic statistics
• 3.3.2 Costs
• Essay competition season – advice for economics students

About the author

Helping economics students online since 2015. Previously an economist, I now provide economics resources on tfurber.com and tutor A Level Economics students. Read more about me here .

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Economics personal statement examples

On this page is a collection of economics personal statements, all written by real students. Among them are some that have helped students make successful applications to universities such as Cambridge, LSE and Manchester.

Some also feature review comments from The Student Room personal statement review team.

By reading through a few of these samples, you can gain inspiration for your own economics personal statement. 

Economics personal statement examples - top rated by students

We have lots of economics personal statement examples that you can read through. To help you find the best ones, we asked students to vote for which they found the most useful. 

The following personal statements are those that were the most highly rated.

Economics degree personal statement example (1c) LSE offer Submitted by: Anonymous "For me, the uniqueness of economics lies in its ability to combine both Arts and Science disciplines. Such a synergy creates a diverse subject which..."

Economics degree personal statement example (2h) Cambridge offer Submitted by: Anonymous " Observing the world around me, it is clear Economics can clarify so much. Take the stock market: an intricate web of transactions, demand and..."

Economics and finance degree personal statement example (1g) with review Submitted by: Anonymous " In today's world, economics associated disciplines are of fundamental significance..."

Economics and management personal statement example (1c) Oxford offer Submitted by: Anonymous " Economics in the current climate is inescapable; it dominates the media and is at the forefront of..."

Economics degree personal statement example (1h) Submitted by: Anonymous " Logic, fresh ideas, and a strong applicability to real life: the fundamentals of economics are based on..."

Economics degree personal statement example (1q) Cambridge offer Submitted by: Anonymous " Everyday, we are faced with choices. Whatever their magnitude, economics encourages a logical approach to..."

Business and economics personal statement example (1a) Submitted by: Anonymous "Economics was the first subject which caught my attention, and got me thinking about its relevance outside..."

Economics degree personal statement example (1s) Cambridge offer Submitted by: Anonymous " Ever since my Year 9 history teacher told me of the "circle of prosperity", a phenomenon we now know better as..."

Economics degree personal statement example (1e) UCL offer Submitted by: Anonymous "Travelling around the world, and having visited places including America and Iran, has allowed me to personally witness..."

Economics degree personal statement example (2d) with review Submitted by: Anonymous " I am applying to study a degree in economics principally because of the diversity of both the subject and..."

Full list of economics personal statement examples

Studying economics at university.

Study for an economics degree and you will be exploring how people, businesses and governments produce and allocate resources.

Economics degrees cover a wide range of topics, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, international economics and business economics.

Economics degrees can also be combined with other subjects, such as history, politics, or philosophy. Economics graduates might go into careers in various sectors; such as banking, consulting, education, or public policy.

Explore economics degrees at UK universities on The Uni Guide .

Advice on writing your economics personal statement

On The Uni Guide, we've got advice from universities on what they want to see in an economics personal statement . 

Among the tips shared by these admissions experts:

• Show that you've read around the subject
• Find ways to demonstrate your passion for economics
• Do your research into the course and show that you understand what to expect from it
• Write about more than just an interest in finance

More help with your personal statement

You can find personal statement examples for other courses by using this subject list, or by returning to our personal statements by subject page.

Other useful links

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What is an economics personal statement?

An economics personal statement should describe your motivations for wanting to study this subject. It tells the university who you are and why you will make a great economics candidate. Whether you're applying for an undergraduate or postgraduate course, it's crucial you present yourself in the best possible light to convince admissions tutors you will be a valuable asset to their department.

Your economics personal statement will be used by universities to decide whether you are a good student to study economics, and whether they want to offer you a place on their course.

How do I write an economics personal statement?

We recommend you start your economics personal statement by jotting down some ideas about your skills, experience, hobbies/extracurricular activities, strengths and ambitions for the future. Our personal statement template can help you structure your thoughts into coherent and concise paragraphs.

Start early and give yourself plenty of time to re-draft your economics statement, and proofread it for spelling and grammar. You will need to go through at least three or four revisions before you have a final, polished draft.

Once you're happy with it, make sure you check it for spelling and grammar (don't just rely on Spellchecker for this). Get someone else to read through it if you're worried you might miss something. You can then think about pasting it into your UCAS form, ready to send off.

What should I include in my economics personal statement?

• Be specific and try to give examples of your problem-solving and analytical skills, both of which are important in an economics degree.
• If you’re applying for a joint honours, e.g. economics and maths , then tailor your statement so you relate it to both of these subjects.
• A business management and economics personal statement might mention a role of responsibility, such as leader of your student debating society or head boy/girl at your sixth form. Or for an economics and finance personal statement , you could mention managing money at your Saturday job.
• Any hobbies or other activities you are involved in outside of school should always be linked to your economics course. If you don't feel something is relevant, then don't mention it - remember you only have a limited space of 4,000 characters, so every word has to earn its place. Our personal statement length checker can help you with this.
• Round off by talking about your career plans and any other ambitions you have for the future. Mention how your economics degree is going to help you achieve this.

How do I write the introduction for my economics personal statement?

Your introduction should pick out one or two aspects of economics that you particularly enjoy or are passionate about. For example, you might talk about your interest in current affairs and world development, and include one or two situations that made you want to study economics in more detail. This could be anything from a fiscal decision made by the Bank of England, or a how a civil war in another country has affected their levels of income.

By starting with an anecdote, or a specific situation you've read about or experienced, you will have a better chance of drawing the reader in, and making them want to finish reading your personal statement.

Whatever you choose to open with, it should be reflective and persuade the admissions tutors that this is the only subject you want to go on to study at university.

Economics personal statement introduction example

To help demonstrate what you should include in your opening paragraph, take a look at this great example below, where the writer uses their experience of growing up in a poor country where wealth was unevenly distributed as a catalyst for developing their interest in economics:

"Being born and brought up in a country where an uneven distribution of income is a norm, the poor live on a minimum wage of Rupees 115 a day, whilst the billionaires form the sixth largest group in the world. This vast contrast between the rich and the poor has always intrigued me and I have often questioned how this economy India, functions with such instability and chaos."

Here is another good example from another student, who talks about how their studies of the Great Depression ignited their appreciation for economics:

"Studying the Great Depression in the USA in 1929 for my extended project is when I started to fully appreciate my interest in economics. Being able to analyse and argue the issues within my extended project and relate it to the current economic crisis has awakened my passion for the subject further, especially as this subject is covered extensively in the news and media. This shows that economics is an essential factor of our society. Studying this subject in university will equip me with the knowledge to understand the economy thoroughly. "

Hopefully these examples will inspire you to write your own introduction for your economics statement that will grab the reader's attention and make the admissions tutors want to offer you a place on their course.

How do I write a conclusion for my economics personal statement?

Your conclusion should encompass where you hope your economics degree to take you, and what you hope to achieve in the future. This might include your career ambitions, or moving on to a postgraduate course to further enhance your education.

You may also wish to reiterate why are enthusiastic about applying for an economics degree, and why you think you will be a good student for this particular course.

Don't round off your statement with something vague, or by repeating something you've already mentioned elsewhere in your UCAS application. You only have 47 lines of space in which to sell yourself to the admissions tutors, so don't waste it!

Economics personal statement conclusion example

To help you write your concluding paragrapgh, take a look at this example below, where the writer talks about using the knowledge they will gain in real life situations, and how they enjoy learning about the effects of economics on a daily basis:

"I am very passionate about studying economics because I look forward to developing my current knowledge, and applying it to real life situations. I believe my desire to keep in touch with today’s economics is what will allow me to thrive in higher education."

This writer chooses to talk about applying for a Masters program once they complete their degree, and taking up internships during their summer break to gain more work experience:

"My aspirations upon graduation from University would be to advance my studies in a similarly themed Masters program or work in international development. I plan on taking internships throughout the summer breaks to gain more work experience and help me fund my student lifestyle. I am looking forward to learning and developing in various economic subjects and am excited about the opportunities that I’ll have both as a student and once I graduate."

Hopefully these two examples will help you write your own conclusion for your economics personal statement, and round it off in a way that will make it stand out from the crowd.

For more help and advice on what to write in your economics personal statement, please see:

• Personal Statement Editing Services
• Personal Statement Tips From A Teacher
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement
• The 15th January UCAS Deadline: 4 Ways To Avoid Missing It
• Personal Statement FAQs
• Personal Statement Timeline
• 10 Top Personal Statement Writing Tips
• What To Do If You Miss The 15th January UCAS Deadline.

What can I do with an economics degree?

There are many different options for those choosing to pursue an economics degree. These include:

• business analyst
• financial consultant
• investment analyst .

However, there are also many other career paths where an economics degree could be useful, such as:

• data scientist
• economic development officer
• quantity surveyor .

For more advice on what you can do with your economics degree, please visit TopUniversities and Prospects .

What are the best UK universities for economics?

Currently, the best UK universities to study economics at for 2023 are:

For more information on UK university rankings for economics, please see The Complete University Guide and The Telegraph.

Further resources

For more information and advice on economics degrees and careers, please see the following:

• 9 Economics Degree Jobs
• Careers in Economics - LSE
• 10 Jobs for Graduates With An Economics Degree
• What jobs can you get with an Economics degree in the UK?
• Economics - Career Pilot
• What to do with an Economics degree - Bright Network

Related resources

Economics statement analysis.

Find out more

UCAS Economics Subject Guide

Careers In Economics

National Careers Service: Economist

Economics Courses

Economics Degree Jobs

Economics University Rankings 2023

Economics Degree Guide

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How to Write a Personal Statement for a PhD Program Application

Personal statement guidelines, general guidelines to keep in mind:.

• One size does not fit all : Tailor your personal statement to each program and department you are applying to. Do your research to learn what is unique about each of your choices and highlight how this particular program stands out.
• Yes, it’s personal : Showcase your unique strengths and accomplishments. Explain what influenced your personal decisions to pursue the program. Ask yourself, could this be applied to your friend or neighbor? If so, you need to be more specific and provide examples. Saying that you are a “good scientist” isn’t enough. Provide examples of your previous research experience, projects you’ve completed, and what technical skills you learned. Explain how you overcame any challenges along the way.
• Set aside enough time :  Although personal statements are generally short in length (approx. 700 words; 1-2 pages), give yourself ample time to write a strong, well-written statement. It takes more time than you think to develop a final draft for submission.
• Focus on your spelling, grammar, and vocabulary :  It’s important to present a well-written statement with good grammar and vocabulary. Write concrete, succinct sentences that flow well. Avoid flowery language. Visit the  Writing Center  for additional review and feedback.
• Proofread one more time:  Check your grammar and spelling again before submitting your final draft. Ask a friend, professor, or advisor to proofread your final draft one more time before sending it in. 

YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT SHOULD ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• Why do you want to complete further research in this field?  Write down a list of reasons as to why you are interested in pursuing further study in the field. When did you become interested in the field and what knowledge have you gained so far? Describe how your previous work provided the foundation and for further study.
• Why  have you  chosen to apply to this particular university ? Does the institution have a particular curriculum, special research facilities/equipment, or interesting research that appeal to you?
• What are your strengths ? Demonstrate how you stand out from other candidates. Highlight relevant projects, dissertations thesis or essays that demonstrate your academic skills and creativity. Include IT skills, research techniques, awards, or relevant traveling/ study abroad experience.
• What are your transferable skills?  Be sure to emphasize transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and time management skills. Give examples of how you have demonstrated each of these with specific examples.
• How does this program align with your career goals?  It’s okay if you don’t know the exact career path you plan to take after completing your PhD. Provide an idea of the direction you would like to take. This demonstrates commitment and dedication to the program.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For examples of successful personal statements, visit the  Online Writing Lab (OWL) .

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Writing the Personal Statement

Helpful tips and advice for drafting a compelling personal statement when applying for graduate admission.

Make sure to check the appropriate program website to find out if your statement should include additional or specific information.

What does this statement need to accomplish?

The personal statement should give concrete evidence of your promise as a member of the academic community, giving the committee an image of you as a person.

This is also where you represent your potential to bring to your academic career a critical perspective rooted in a non-traditional educational background, or your understanding of the experiences of groups historically under-represented in higher education and your commitment to increase participation by a diverse population in higher education.

What kinds of content belongs here?

Anything that can give reviewers a sense of you as a person belongs here; you can repeat information about your experiences in your research statement, but any experiences that show your promise, initiative, and ability to persevere despite obstacles belongs here. This is also a good place to display your communication skills and discuss your ability to maximize effective collaboration with a diverse cross-section of the academic community. If you have faced any obstacles or barriers in your education, sharing those experiences serves both for the selection process, and for your nomination for fellowships. If one part of your academic record is not ideal, due to challenges you faced in that particular area, this is where you can explain that, and direct reviewers’ attention to the evidence of your promise for higher education.

The basic message: your academic achievement despite challenges

It is especially helpful for admissions committees considering nominating you for fellowships for diversity if you discuss any or all of the following:

• Demonstrated significant academic achievement by overcoming barriers such as economic, social, or educational disadvantage;
• attendance at a minority serving institution;
• ability to articulate the barriers facing women and minorities in science and engineering fields;
• participation in higher education pipeline programs such as, UC Leads, or McNair Scholars;
• Academic service advancing equitable access to higher education for women and racial minorities in fields where they are underrepresented;
• Leadership experience among students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education;
• research that addresses issues such as race, gender, diversity, and inclusion;
• research that addresses health disparities, educational access and achievement, political engagement, economic justice, social mobility, civil and human rights, and other questions of interest to historically underrepresented groups;
• artistic expression and cultural production that reflects culturally diverse communities or voices not well represented in the arts and humanities.

• Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement, and Writing Sample

Details about submitting a statement of purpose, personal statement, and a writing sample as part of your degree program application

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Statement of Purpose 

The statement of purpose is very important to programs when deciding whether to admit a candidate. Your statement should be focused, informative, and convey your research interests and qualifications. You should describe your reasons and motivations for pursuing a graduate degree in your chosen degree program, noting the experiences that shaped your research ambitions, indicating briefly your career objectives, and concisely stating your past work in your intended field of study and in related fields. Your degree program of interest may have specific guidance or requirements for the statement of purpose, so be sure to review the degree program page for more information. Unless otherwise noted, your statement should not exceed 1,000 words. 

Personal Statement

Please describe the personal experiences that led you to pursue graduate education and how these experiences will contribute to the academic environment and/or community in your program or Harvard Griffin GSAS. These may include social and cultural experiences, leadership positions, community engagement, equity and inclusion efforts, other opportunities, or challenges. Your statement should be no longer than 500 words.

Please note that there is no expectation to share detailed sensitive information and you should refrain from including anything that you would not feel at ease sharing. Please also note that the Personal Statement should complement rather than duplicate the content provided in the Statement of Purpose. 

Visit Degree Programs and navigate to your degree program of interest to determine if a Personal Statement is required. The degree program pages will be updated by early September indicating if the Personal Statement is required for your program.

Writing Sample 

Please visit Degree Programs and navigate to your degree program of interest to determine if a writing sample is required. When preparing your writing sample, be sure to follow program requirements, which may include format, topic, or length. 

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Personal statements

Read the phrasing carefully.

Different institutions will phrase what they want to see in their personal statement differently, some examples (as of September 2013) and how you could break the wording down to ensure you address everything are below:

Example of application guidance from LSE:

You must submit a personal statement with your application form. This should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. It should describe your academic interests and your purpose and objectives in undertaking graduate study. 

Suggestions of what to include for this phrasing:

• Outline what are your academic interests specifically
• How they are related to the course.
• How do you see the course furthering these interests?
• Do you have previous experience of studying these areas?
• Was your undergraduate dissertation, major project or a group presentation relevant to the course or your academic interests?
•  Have you attended conferences, seminars or networking events outside your studies to increase your knowledge?
• What have you learnt recently,
• and how does this link to the course you are applying for?
• Perhaps you can link your academic interests to work experience you have gained?
• Purpose in undertaking graduate study  – Why are you applying for postgraduate study? This could be linked to discussing your academic interests, or perhaps you have a career orientated goal.
• Objectives in undertaking graduate study  – What do you hope to achieve by the end of your postgraduate study, whether educationally or professionally? If you have professional objectives, how will this course help you move towards your career goal?
• What else?  – you could also include some of the suggestions in the guidelines below, but make sure you address everything in their description.

Example of application guidance from SOAS:

Your personal statement should be no more than 1,000 words. It should include the reasons why you are interested in the programme, highlight your relevant experience and suitability for the programme as well as future plans. 

• Why you are interested in the programme  – Look at the course content carefully to decide what it is that most interests you in the programme content-wise. Discuss any relevant research or coursework you might have done in the past, and include technical language or language that shows you have a grasp of the topic.
• Relevant experience  – think back to your work experience, extracurricular activities and voluntary experiences and reflect upon relevant projects you might have worked on, tasks you were set or research you conducted that demonstrates relevance to the course. You might not feel you have this experience yet, but perhaps you have worked in a relevant sector and you could show your technical and commercial understanding.
• Suitability for the programme  – Think about the skills you might need to succeed in this programme. What is your experience that makes you suitable for the programme? Perhaps you will reflect on study or research skills that you have gained, or maybe you’ll need strong negotiation, communication or presentation skills which you gained through mooting or as a student representative? If you can show you were engaged with your undergraduate university’s community then this might be a good place to mention what you did.
• Future plans  – What are your career aspirations and how do you see the course furthering these?

Writing a personal statement

If they do not specify what to include in your personal statement, areas you might want to include are below. There is no set order of when to mention what but starting your personal statement with your most relevant point is advised.

Motivations

• Why are you applying for the programme?
• What do you hope to gain from the programme?
• What is it that interests you about the subject? Can this be related to your previous education or work experience (see below)?
• What are your career aspirations and how will this course help you achieve them?

Educational experience and commercial knowledge

• Do you have past education that gives you the knowledge base you need for the course?
• Is your undergraduate dissertation relevant? Tell the tutor about it and the research methods you used (especially if applying for a research masters).
• Perhaps you like to keep up with current news in the sector you hope to go into. You could mention a topical issue and discuss how you see the course furthering your understanding.

Work experience

• Have you gained work experience in a field relevant to the course or relevant to your career ambitions? Can you link this experience to your motivation to wanting to continue studying in this field?
• Tell the tutor about this experience and reflect on how this could help with the course or use it as an example of your motivation for continued study in a related area.
• If you are a mature student returning to study, why are you returning? Are you looking to make a career change? Why, and how, do you expect the course will support your new ambition?

Other experience

• Include your extracurricular and voluntary experience too. Tutors want rounded people on their course; show that you engaged in university life during your undergraduate course or that you gained some relevant skills or experiences through volunteering.

Anything else

• You can outline your main achievements, awards or successes in competitions. Think about the course you are applying for and if there is anything they might be particularly impressed by.
• Mention relevant summer schools, overseas study or conferences/ short courses you might have attended that are related to the course.

Other circumstances

• Deferred entry – if you would like to start the course the following year explain to the course tutor what you will be doing with the next year.

Final checks

• Spelling and grammar – this will give the course tutor an idea as to your writing skills, so ensure there are no mistakes.
• Abbreviations and acronyms – explain any you have used.
• Content structure – ensure the paragraphs make sense and that the document flows well. Don’t repeat yourself by revisiting an experience or educational point.
• Don’t write a narrative of your life, from leaving school to current day.
• Be positive; don’t use negative language i.e. Although I have little experience of…
• Adhere to the word count (where applicable) or if there isn’t one, keep your statement to two to three pages of A4.

If you are already a student at LSE and would like LSE Careers to check your personal statement before you submit it please  make an appointment for a careers discussion  on CareerHub. It is also advised that if your application is fairly technically subject specific that you get an academic to check the content for accuracy.

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/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="personal statement economics phd"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Personal statement, overview .

There are two types of statements included in the Graduate School’s online application, (1) the Academic Statement of Purpose and (2) the Personal Statement, both of which are required for all graduate degree programs. 

What Should the Personal Statement Include?

Your Personal Statement should provide the admissions committee with a sense of you as a whole person, and you should use it to describe how your personal background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Additionally, it should provide insights into your potential to contribute to Cornell University’s core value to provide a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together. Within your Personal Statement, you may also share details on lessons learned from any of your lived experiences including but not limited to

• being a first-generation college student or graduate (no parent/guardian completed a baccalaureate degree)
• racial, ethnic, and/or cultural background(s)
• managing a disability or chronic health condition
• experiencing housing, food, economic, and/or other forms of significant insecurity
• being a solo parent
• gender identity and/or sexual orientation 
• having served in the military
• holding DACA, refugee, TPS, or asylee status

Your Personal Statement provides you with an opportunity to share experiences that provide insights on how your personal, academic, and/or professional experiences demonstrate your ability to be both persistent and resilient, especially when navigating challenging circumstances. It also gives you an opportunity to provide examples of how you engage with others and have facilitated and/or participated in productive collaborative endeavors. Additionally, it is a place, where if necessary, you can (and should) address any blemishes, gaps, or weaknesses in your academic record. In these situations, you will want to be honest, but brief. It is best to turn negatives into positives by focusing on how you overcame obstacles, remained persistent in the pursuit of your goals, and showed resilience. Share what you learned from the particular experience, and how it led you to become a better researcher/scholar/person, etc.

Content in the Personal Statement should complement rather than duplicate the content contained within the Academic Statement of Purpose, which should focus explicitly on your academic interests, previous research and/or relevant professional experience, and intended area of academic focus during your graduate studies.

Why should you consider Cornell?

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• December 1, 2021
• Personal Statement

A good PhD Economics Personal Statement is pertinent to pitch your value to an admission committee. It will help you highlight your intellectual and career trajectory, recognitions, and skills, as the case may be.  It is important to put together a good personal statement if you’re seeking admission into one of the PhD programs in Economics. This sample will guide you on how to approach your statement.

Note: If you need further assistance writing your PhD Economics Personal Statement,  contact us today .

Table of Contents

Top Universities to Study for PhD in Economics

• University of Manchester
• University of Nevada
• Stanford University
• Harvard University
• University of Birmingham
• University of Kent
• University of Calgary

I am proud of what I have been able to achieve at the Novel Economic Research Institute since joining them in 2019. From actively participating in economic researches to back federal government projects, to providing supportive economic data for externally funded projects and individual projects, I have come to appreciate the ideals of economic research and the professionals who dedicate a good part of their time and resources to uncovering human behaviours and how they affect financial and economic activities. Through my current responsibilities, I find that learning about people, institutions, and industries, and the reason behind their economic decisions gives me satisfaction.

My interest in economics was not something that happened naturally, it was not until my senior year in high school that I became interested in economics. It took the tutelage of my Economics Teacher to develop my love for economics. I would later understand that Economics contrary to my preconceived notion encompassed both arts and science, and was governed by precise principles and rules. Slowly, economics became one of my favourites and after enjoying a series of academic successes during tests and exams, I grew confident to pursue a degree in economics. I went ahead to enrol for a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Management and Economics, my undergraduate studies gave me the tremendous scope for self-expression especially with interpretations and analysis. I obtained top scores in key modules and graduated with a First Class Honour. I progressed to bag an MSc in Economics from Kent University. During my master’s program, I received rigorous training in ………… which helped equip me in economic analysis.

Upon completion of my master’s program, I joined a management trainee program to improve my management competencies and also to prepare myself for corporate life. I would later accept an employment opportunity to join the Novel Economic Research Institute as I was eager to apply the theoretical knowledge gained over a combined 7 years of academic work in a real-life setting. This opportunity has offered me avenues to approach real-life problems and has achieved some remarkable feats. One of my outstanding achievements so far is …………………….

At the Novel Economic Research Institute, progressive learning and growth is important if I am to effectively engage in intensive, progressive and interdisciplinary research that help promote informed decision-making as the government and nation rely on our results to advise on sensitive economic issues. While I never intended to focus solely on the research side of economics, nearly all my work revolves around it which has made me realize the need for advanced learning to strengthen my economic research skills. More so, my job allows me to tap into the intellectual depth of some of my colleagues with doctoral degrees which motivates me to also advance my knowledge to a PhD level.

Though my undergraduate and master’s degree gave me the background to understand and utilize economic concepts, I am still lacking in…………………. Specializing through this PhD program is important; as I have noticed how my co-workers who have specialized education excel at applying their knowledge in their area of speciality.

I first learned about Stanford University from a colleague who equally completed his doctoral studies in SU. While working with him, I was fascinated by his ability to quickly grasp concepts and discern issues with the combination of knowledge, critical thinking and fast reflexes which he formed during his years at Stanford. I love the reputation that Stanford University has built for itself over the years, and seeing the line-up of lecturers in the Environmental, Resource and Energy Economics research field, I am very much encouraged and eager to follow through with a Stanford doctoral.

One of my reasons for delving into doctoral studies in economics is because I am interested in carrying out independent research and analysis. My areas of interest cover Environmental, Resource, and Energy Economics, Development Economics, Public Economics, International Policy and Development. Researching one of these areas during my doctoral studies would help me uncover ………………

I will be coming with knowledge gained from years of intensive work in one of Nigeria’s reliable economic research teams. I have garnered knowledge from different economic and research perspectives that I believe will interest both my lecturers and colleagues during this program. I understand the requirements and high expectations of Stanford University, and I believe that my passion, previous academic records, work experiences, and future ambition will make me worthy of a place in the next class of students to be admitted for this program. I look forward to your consideration.

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Thank you for taking out the time to go through this PhD Economics Personal Statement. If you need assistance writing yours,  click here  and contact our customer support.

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By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 21 September 2023 | 8 min read

Writing an economics personal statement: expert advice from universities

Get your economics personal statement in top shape with these insider tips

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Read around the subject 

• Read more:  how to write an excellent personal statement in ten steps

Let your passion for economics shine through in your personal statement

• Read more:  teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

Make sure you really understand what economics is all about

Do your research into the course.

• Read more:  personal statement FAQs

Keep your personal statement personal

Talk about how you engage with the world around you.

• Read more:  the ten biggest mistakes to avoid when writing your personal statement

Show your interest in collecting and analysing data

• Read more:  universities reveal all about personal statements

Don’t only focus on finance

• Read more:  universities explain how to end your personal statement with a bang

Include extracurricular activities with relevant skills

• Read more:  how to write your personal statement when you have nothing interesting to say

You could talk about your plans for your future, but don’t worry if you don’t have a definite career trajectory all mapped out

• Read more:  how long does it take for universities to reply to your application? 

It shouldn’t matter if you haven’t studied economics before

Proofread your personal statement before you send it out, you may want to look at these..., personal statement secrets – universities reveal all.

Want to know how to craft an amazing personal statement? Take some advice from the experts...

How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

Help and advice on putting your application together

Personal statement FAQs

We've gone through some of the most commonly asked personal statement questions and put all the answers in one place

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Successful Personal Statement For Economics At Cambridge

Last Updated: 12th April 2022

Author: Chloe Hewitt

Table of Contents

Welcome to our popular Personal Statement series where we present a successful Personal Statement, and our Oxbridge Tutors provide their feedback on it. 

Today, we are looking through a Economics applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure a place at Cambridge University. The Economics Course at Cambridge provides a rounded, rigorous education in Economics which is valuable for a wide range of career paths.

Read on to see how this candidate wrote a Personal Statement that helped secure their place on a reputable degree. 

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement:

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

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With our  Oxbridge Economics Premium Programme, your tutor will give you regular actionable feedback with insider tips on how to improve and make your Personal Statement Oxbridge quality for the best chances of success.  

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Economics Personal Statement

The right answer – does such a thing even exist? When considering the field of mathematics, my response would be an unequivocal yes – indeed, I find its simplicity and elegance some of its most attractive qualities. For economics, however, the question of a right answer is not so straightforward. My interest in economics was sparked when I read “Freakonomics” and “SuperFreakonomics”. I found the search for a logical explanation behind seemingly illogical behaviour intriguing, and the idea that small changes to incentives could effect such large changes to those behaviours fascinating.

To further my understanding, I attended lectures at the LSE, including one given by Ha-Joon Chang. His arguments challenged much of what I had learned – deregulation and trade liberalisation would not, apparently, stimulate competitive growth, while education, it turned out, could not be counted on to increase entrepreneurship or productivity. These contradictions made me eager to read his “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism” and “Bad Samaritans”. Although relishing his controversial stance on almost everything, I found his central thesis – that by using protectionism to support fledgling domestic industries, other poor nations can emulate South Korea’s success – overly optimistic and one-size-fits-all. As Paul Collier argues in “The Bottom Billion”, many are trapped by conflict or bad governance, with even bleaker prospects after “missing the boat” on which many Asian economies sailed away to prosperity.     

While economics is rooted in the world around us, with all its fascinating, messy complexities, mathematics derives its beauty from its abstract nature. It is unique in that it can lead us to an answer that is not merely the right one, but is true in an absolute sense. This was emphasised by G. H. Hardy in “A Mathematician’s Apology”, where he spoke of a mathematical reality distinct from the ordinary one, of which we can only ever hope to produce a “partial and imperfect copy”. Another of the appeals of mathematics is its breadth of application. I was able to explore this over the past three years in a series of Royal Institution master classes covering topics from graph theory to the mathematics of juggling. My decision to continue with mathematics was confirmed when I undertook the AEA; I found it challenging but immensely satisfying to be able to use simple concepts from the A-level core modules to solve even the most daunting problems.

Over the past year, I have mentored two students in mathematics. Explaining concepts to them helped deepen my own understanding and led me to explore proofs behind theorems I had previously accepted. In addition, acting as a primary school classroom assistant inspired me to set up my own volunteering scheme, in which I and other students help children learn to read. I have enjoyed competing in the UKMT Mathematics Challenge, in which I won a medal at Olympiad level, and the UK Linguistics Olympiad, in which I twice progressed to the selection round for the national team. I have also represented my school in the Hans Woyda competition, and am excited to be doing the same in the Target 2.0 challenge later this year.

Despite their differences, the authors I mentioned above hold something in common: their use of empirical methods to reach conclusions. It is here that the attraction of combining the study of mathematics and economics becomes especially apparent. Without mathematics, economics risks beginning to earn its title “the dismal science”, reducing to speculation and rhetoric without even the emotional investment enjoyed by politics. This is not to dismiss the importance of normative economics, but to say that it draws meaning from a basis in fact. I am not arguing for sound bite solutions to complex questions, but rather that, even in a field as hotly debated as economics, the right answer is still a worthwhile goal, reachable through the use of data and copious amounts of trial and error.

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Good Points Of The Personal Statement

This statement is thoughtful and interesting, and conveys clear motivations for studying Economics, as well as demonstrating a good level of preparation for university study. The student elaborates on their response to each preparatory activity they engaged in, rather than falling into the trap of simply listing books read and lectures attended. They are clearly passionate about the subject, and show promise as an economist, which they demonstrate in, again, not only listing their achievements, but explaining what they took from the experience, and subtly indicating what this says about them as a student.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

I have very little to say in criticism of this essay except that, perhaps, it could come across as a little cliché. Questioning whether there is such a thing as ‘the right answer’ in the introduction, and concluding that pursuit of the field to which they’re applying for further study is worthy are both very common.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

This is an exceptional personal statement. Not only is the student accomplished, they convey this without bragging, and in enough detail that we gain insight into their abilities, motivations, and personal interests, rather than simply receiving a list in prose form. Though the ideas with which the student begins and concludes the statement are somewhat unoriginal, the explanation found in between is exceptionally strong, and justifies the unoriginal sentiments – they’re clearly not being added just as throwaway lines.

This Personal Statement for Chemistry is a great example of demonstrating motivation and development which is vital to Admissions Tutors.

Remember, at Cambridge, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years, so you need to appeal directly to them.

Check out our other successful personal statements and our expert guides on our Free Personal Statement Resources page.

Successful Personal Statement For Natural Science (Physical) At Cambridge

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Sample Economics PhD Statement of Purpose

by Talha Omer, M.Eng., Cornell Grad

In statement of purpose.

The following statement of purpose is written by an applicant who got accepted to top Ph.D. programs in economics. Variations of this SOP got accepted at MIT, Yale, and Brown. Read this essay to get inspiration and understand what a top Ph.D. economics SOP should look like.

Sample Statement of Purpose Ph.D. Economics

Inequality is a grim reality in the present-day world. Development topography is not homogenous. The contrast between developed and underdeveloped regions is far more severe in developing countries. Bad matters are made worse when the tools of development, meant to iron out differences, accentuate inequality.

The difference between Meridione, from where I belong, and Trentino is extremely. Unfortunately, the gap is widening with every passing year. The prime reason is the improper allocation of development funds because there is no criterion for the distribution of funds within 47 districts of Italy. Meager allocation fails to alleviate depravity because development projects are marred with ill conception, vague and intangible objectives, ineffective implementation regimes, and corruption. In addition, there is a gulf between academia and public sector officers. Consequently, underdeveloped regions of Meridione are sinking below the poverty line. Hence, I intend to obtain a Ph.D. in Economics to get insight into development paradigms and advanced research techniques so that I can give informed input for policy-level decisions.

My formal academic research has focused on funds distribution among various government tiers. In 2021, as an MS Economics dissertation, I explored the issue “Fiscal Decentralization & Service Delivery Mechanism: a case study of five districts of Meridione”. At that time, Italy had recently experimented with the devolution of power, which resulted in fiscal decentralization. Based on the analysis of the Annual Development Plan of five districts, I concluded that the rhetoric of budgetary decentralization was merely a façade because districts were dependent on the provinces’ provision of funds and plans had a regional footprint.

During my Master’s, I researched ‘Political Economy of Development Expenditure: verdict drawn from the provincial analysis.’ The Under-Development Index (UDI) composite index was developed using Factor Analysis based on 24 variables from UNICEF’s sponsored Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of Meridione (MICS). Results showed that the topography of Meridione in terms of socio-economic development is rugged, and fund allocation was not correlated with the level of development. Both ‘deprived districts’ and ‘crucial sectors’ have been ignored due to political preferences. Therefore, I want to carry forward this work in my Ph.D.

During firsthand experience with developmental projects, I closely studied each project. I used statistical and research techniques to perform analysis. As a result, I found out that projects failed to deliver the envisaged objectives due to various factors which worked individually and simultaneously. For example, a project titled ‘Tree Plantation at Fort Harilaq’ failed to achieve its intended objectives because, due to improper planning eucalyptus plant (which requires an excessive amount of water) was planted in the hills of Fort Harilaq, which has no underground water. In another project titled ‘Establishment of emergency services at 12 districts of Meridione’, cheaper but non-durable ambulances were purchased without cost-benefit analysis.

Similarly, in a project titled ‘Elimination of bonded labor in brickkilns,’ a study was conducted after the execution of a project to check whether the labor was bonded or voluntary. There are numerous projects and numerous issues. I tried to voice everything. Even written in newspapers. I soon observed that the reporting resulted in improvements; even new projects were not designed in light of recommendations on old projects. Therefore, I gave the exam for the senior position of Assistant Chief and joined the appraisal section, which dealt with the project at the conception stage rather than evaluation which is carried out post-completion. To my surprise, appraisals should have been given more importance. The department pursued its projects as per its plan. The reason behind this stinginess was disclosed to me at a later stage.

My firsthand experience of development has shown that there is a gulf between academia and bureaucracy. Italy has well-known scholars and intellectuals, but their studies are outside the practical realm. Therefore, most government processes remain stagnant. Academia cannot be blamed for this sorry state. The bureaucrats and policymakers also need to engage academia or incorporate the results of their studies.

Consequently, both streams work in their silos. In the public sector, there are few Ph.D. The unfortunate part of the equation is that people from academia are only welcome if they join the public sector. For instance, the post of Chief Economist has been vacant for five years and is being run through an additional charge. In fact, since 1970, only one Ph.D. from academia was posted for the position, and the remaining part was filled through ad-hoc arrangements.

I want to pursue a Ph.D. in Economics specializing in Development Economics for the above reasons. I want to develop a which could give a yardstick to governments for the distribution of funds to different regions based on their backwardness and sectors on account of their importance. Moreover, I would like to abridge the gulf between academia and bureaucrats so that instead of working in silos, they sync their efforts to use the latest advancements in the field. In addition, because of the knowledge and techniques gained from the exposure, I would like to evolve the government process. Lastly, I would like to develop policy guidelines for each public sector development project category so recurrent issues are not repeated and optimum use of public resources is done. I have always used and implemented the knowledge gained.

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Hello. impressive job. I did not anticipate this. This is a great story. Thanks!

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PhD personal statement and resume

You should prepare your personal statement in advance to be uploaded into the online application via the application tab titled “Supplemental.” In review of your personal statement, the admissions committee will seek evidence of your maturity, leadership, strength of purpose, academic potential and ability to communicate clearly and professionally. Please be concise, yet thorough.

The statement should be no more than two to four pages long. Ensure the document file is not password protected and is in .doc, .pdf or .txt format. Please note that special fonts and/or formats (italics, bold, etc.) may be lost during submission. Be sure to carefully proofread your statement prior to submission.

Distinguish yourself

Submission of the personal statement allows you an opportunity to highlight the qualities and experiences that distinguish you as a prospective W. P. Carey doctoral student. Applicants are requested to provide information pertaining to the following areas as part of their statement:

• Your name as it will appear on the ASU Graduate College application
• The ASU Application Reference Number assigned to you upon submission of your online application and/or your 10-digit ASU Identification Number
• Your personal background, including formative events and circumstances such as extracurricular activities, honors, achievements and community activities
• Work experience, including credentials you have from your hands-on and professional experiences
• Descriptions of the research projects you have conducted and your personal research interests
• Other personal attributes and qualities
• Qualifications and reasons for interest in the W. P. Carey PhD in business administration with a specialization in finance
• How obtaining a PhD will help you achieve your personal career goals and objectives

Employment summary/resume

You should prepare your resume information in advance to be uploaded into the online application via the application tab titled “Additional Info.” Ensure the document file is not password protected and is in .doc, pdf or .txt format. Please note that special fonts and/or formats (italics, bold, etc.) may be lost during submission. Be sure to carefully proofread your statement prior to submission.

Resumes should include:

• Job titles and positions held, key responsibilities and accomplishments for each position, and salary history (optional)
• Honors, awards, certificates, professional organizations, volunteer activities and community involvement
• Computer skills, multilingual abilities and overseas travel or work experience
• Academic background, including schools attended and degrees earned

Answers to additional questions

You should be prepared with responses that describe what qualifies you to meet the W. P. Carey School of Business expectation that all new students have proficiency in using a computer spreadsheet, programming and college-level business calculus / statistics. Responses of 255 characters or less are required regarding two categories, (1) Computer Competency and (2) Calculus / Statistical Competency, and should include class number, course titles, grades, institution name, etc.

• Department of Economics >
• Faculty >
• Core Faculty >

Research Interests

Intergenerational Mobility; Human Capital; Crime; Health.

Contact Information

425 Fronczak Hall

Buffalo NY, 14260-1520

Phone: (716) 645-8661

[email protected]

Personal Information

Kegon Tan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics. He is also an affiliate of the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility, and a member of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group. His research examines disparities across multiple dimensions of well-being, including human capital (broadly defined), health, and crime. Understanding the drivers behind these gaps can help to narrow inequalities and improve mobility across generations.

• Ph.D. in Economics -  UW-Madison 

Harris to propose ban on grocery price gouging. Would it cool inflation?

Economists who spoke to ABC News disagreed sharply over the measure.

A highly-anticipated economic agenda to be unveiled by Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday will include a federal ban on price gouging for food and groceries, the Harris campaign announced.

The proposal will be presented to voters alongside other plans to address elevated inflation, such as bolstered antitrust enforcement in the grocery sector and greater latitude to investigate corporate practices, the campaign said in a press release.

A ban on price gouging would in theory disallow food and grocery companies from hiking prices an excessive amount over a set period of time, economists told ABC News. They disagreed, however, on whether the measure could control the rise of food prices or if such an outcome is desirable.

Inflation remains a top issue for voters and a potential vulnerability for Harris, since rapid price increases emerged during the Biden administration. While inflation has fallen dramatically from its peak, consumers still face prices roughly 20% higher than where they stood before Biden took office.

MORE: Trump wants a role in setting interest rates. Some economists say it's a bad idea

In response to ABC News' request for comment, the Harris campaign provided a statement outlining its economic proposals.

"Vice President Harris knows that rising food prices remain a top concern for American families. Many big grocery chains that have seen production costs level off have nevertheless kept prices high and have seen their highest profits in two decades. While some food companies have passed along these savings, others still have not," the statement said.

Here's what to know about how this federal ban on price gouging would operate and whether it would be effective:

How would a federal price-gouging ban work?

The Harris campaign said the measure would set "clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can't unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries."

Details on the policy remain limited, however. Economists told ABC News that the Harris proposal may end up resembling similar bans currently on the books in 37 states. Those bans prohibit companies from exploiting a sudden imbalance between supply and demand by significantly hiking prices.

"The typical example is a natural disaster. If a water company comes and sells water at double, triple or five times the price of what people can get it at five miles away, just to be able to take advantage of the situation – that's price gouging," Niko Lusiani, director of the corporate power program at progressive advocacy group Roosevelt Forward, told ABC News.

State bans define "price gouging" in various ways. Some measures establish a subjective set of criteria, such as a sudden and significant spike in prices; while others detail a specific numerical amount of price growth necessary to violate the law, Luis Cabral, a professor of economics at New York University who studies price gouging, told ABC News.

"It's not easy to measure," Cabral said, noting that qualitative definitions risk being overly vague while quantitative ones struggle to set the boundaries around what constitutes price gouging.

Many of the state-level bans on this practice set a condition that an emergency is necessary to trigger application of the law. The Harris proposal would likely omit such a stipulation, Lusiani said, since we are years removed from the outbreak of COVID-19.

"It'll clearly be different because now we're on the other side of the pandemic," Lusiani added, but he noted that current price hikes could be viewed as a result of that disruption.

The Harris campaign said it would enforce a ban by slapping offenders with financial penalties.

Most state price-gouging bans punish violators with civil penalties enforced by the state attorney general, while other measures impose criminal penalties, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures , a group that tracks state laws.

"Enforcement will be critical," Lusiani said. "A ban by itself won't stand on its own legs."

Would this type of ban help control inflation?

Economists disagreed sharply about whether a federal price-gouging ban would help control price increases and, if so, to what extent that outcome would benefit the economy.

The stark divide owed in part to a difference of opinion about the role of corporate profiteering in the pandemic-era bout of inflation, as well as a clash over the effectiveness of government intervention in addressing it.

Experts who faulted corporate price gouging for a portion of the price increases said it arose from market concentration that allowed a handful of dominant companies in a given industry, including the food and grocery sector, to raise prices without fear of competitors undercutting them with lower-priced alternatives.

Grocery retailer profit margins surged in 2021 and rose even higher two years later, even after price increases had begun to cool, a Federal Trade Commission study in March showed.

A price-gouging ban would help police corporations that otherwise would be tempted to leverage their market power by excessively raising prices, the experts said.

"Large, incumbent corporations that control a large share of a sector, including grocery companies, have way too much power to control prices," Lusiani said. "That's an underlying cause of the inflation."

Some economists who spoke to ABC News attributed the acceleration of price increases over recent years to a textbook example of imbalance between supply and demand. The pandemic snarled global supply chains and triggered lockdowns, causing shortages of goods and workers. Meanwhile, government stimulus boosted demand, sending too many dollars after too few products.

MORE: Personal finances, net worth of Walz and Vance show stark differences

"It's economics 101 that if you stimulate demand while simultaneously deterring supply, your equilibrium will be significantly higher prices," Michael Faulkender, a professor of finance at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, told ABC News.

In turn, Faulkender dismissed any potential benefit from a federal price-gouging ban. "It just sounds to me that we're creating even more burdensome regulations that will actually raise prices for consumers," Faulkender said.

Joe Brusuelas, chief economist for the accounting firm RSM US, said he opposes an outright ban but supports moderate measures that could deter price hikes, such as expanded government oversight of corporate practices.

Bruseulas pointed to data released this week showing food prices had risen 2.2% in July compared to a year ago. That level of inflation essentially stands at normal levels, Brusuelas said, suggesting that price increases had been reined in without a federal price-gouging ban in place.

"I'm concerned when I hear the federal government use the word 'ban,' but I'm not concerned about an exercise in oversight," Brusuelas said.

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Donald Trump mocks Kamala Harris's voice and appearance in rally speech laden with insults

Topic: US Elections

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump meandered between economic remarks and personal insults at a rally in Pennsylvania. ( AP: Carolyn Kaster )

Donald Trump has insulted how Kamala Harris looks and speaks in a speech to a Pennsylvania rally where he was billed to talk about Republican policies.

The former president also claimed she "will be easier to beat" than Joe Biden would have been in the upcoming US election.

What's next?

Democrats will kick off their four-day national convention on Monday, which will mark the party's welcoming of Ms Harris as their nominee.

Donald Trump used a presidential campaign rally to launch personal attacks on his political adversaries, including declaring three times he was better looking than Vice-President Kamala Harris.

Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania's Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Mr Trump wound back and forth between hitting his points on economic policy and delivering a smattering of insults and impressions of President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The former president has seemed to struggle to adjust to Ms Harris, his new opponent, after the Democrats nominated her as their presidential candidate. 

"You don't mind if I go off teleprompter for a second, do you? Joe Biden hates her," Mr Trump told his crowd of supporters, after attacking the Democrats for inflation at the top of his speech.

In multiple campaign appearances over the past week, he has diverged from policies he was billed to speak about and brought into play a rotation of familiar attack lines and insults.

Joseph Costello, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, responded to Mr Trump in a statement, saying, "Another rally, same old show" and that Trump "resorts to lies, name-calling, and confused rants", because he can't sell his agenda.

"The more Americans hear Trump speak, the clearer the choice this November: Vice-President Harris is unifying voters with her positive vision to protect our freedoms, build up the middle class, and move America forward — and Donald Trump is trying to take us backwards."

Portraying Harris as far left 

Vice-President Kamala Harris will be officially welcomed as the Democrats' nominee at their national convention starting Monday. ( AP: LM Otero )

Mr Trump's remarks came as Democrats prepare for their four-day national convention kicking off on Monday in Chicago, which will mark the party's welcoming of Ms Harris as their nominee. 

Her replacement of Mr Biden less than four months before the November election has reinvigorated Democrats and their coalition, and presented a new challenge for the Republicans.

Mr Trump hammered Ms Harris on the economy, associating her with the Biden administration's inflation woes and likening her latest proposal against price gouging to measures in communist nations. 

He has said previously a federal ban on price gouging for groceries would lead to food shortages, rationing and hunger. 

On Saturday, asked why she hadn't worked to solve prices when she and Biden were sworn into office in 2021, Mr Trump said: "Day one for Kamala was three and a half years ago. So why didn't she do it then? So this is day 1,305."

To address high prices, Mr Trump said he would sign an executive order on his first day sworn in as president "directing every cabinet secretary and agency head to use every power we have to drive prices down, but we're going to drive them down in a capitalist way, not in a communist way".

He predicted financial ruin for the country, and said Pennsylvania in particular would be "ruined" if Ms Harris wins, citing her past opposition to fracking, an oil and gas extraction process commonly used in the state. 

Ms Harris's campaign has tried to soften her stance on the practice, saying she would not ban it, although that was her position when she was seeking the 2020 presidential nomination.

Attack on personal terms

Mr Trump has a long history of belittling his opponents with jibes. ( AP: Laurence Kesterson )

Mr Trump laced in attacks on Ms Harris's laugh and said she was "not a very good wordsmith" and mocked the names of the CNN anchors who moderated the debate he had with Mr Biden in June.

Musing on her recent image on the cover of Time magazine, he took issue with a Wall Street Journal columnist remarking earlier this month on Ms Harris's beauty.

"I am much better looking than her," Mr Trump said, drawing laughs from the crowd. 

"I'm a better looking person than Kamala."

He also took issue with the way his style is typically portrayed in news reports.

"They will say he's rambling. I don't ramble. I'm a really smart guy."

In a meandering speech of more than 100 minutes, Mr Trump repeated his false claim that he lost the 2020 election due to fraud, dismissed the threat of climate change and said his plan to impose across-the-board tariffs on foreign goods would not act as a tax on US consumers, an assertion that most economists contest.

Battleground states

Pennsylvania was one of three Rust Belt states, along with Wisconsin and Michigan, that helped power Mr Trump's upset victory in 2016. 

The Saturday rally was his fifth at the arena in Wilkes-Barre, the largest city in Luzerne County, where he has had victories in the past two elections owing to support from its white, non-college-educated voter base.

Mr Biden, who grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, flipped the state back to the Democrats in 2020.

With 19 electoral votes out of the 270 needed to secure the White House, compared with 15 in Michigan and 10 in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania may be the biggest prize in this year's election and potentially tip the balance for either candidate.

Ms Harris's entry into the race last month has up-ended the contest, erasing the lead Mr Trump built in the final weeks of Mr Biden's campaign. She is leading Mr Trump by more than two percentage points in Pennsylvania, according to the poll tracking website FiveThirtyEight.

"I believe she will be easier to beat than him," Mr Trump said, referring to the two Democrats, branding Ms Harris a "radical" and a "lunatic".

On Sunday, Ms Harris plans a bus tour starting in Pittsburgh, with a stop in Rochester, a small town to the north. Mr Trump has scheduled a visit on Monday to a plant that manufactures nuclear fuel containers in York. Mr Trump's running mate JD Vance is expected to be in Philadelphia that day.

The battleground states — seen as critical for winning the election — also include Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada and Georgia.

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Highlights: Harris to hold rally in North Carolina, highlights from Trump’s NJ news conference

With consumer goods placed on tables near him, Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

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Today’s live coverage has ended. See what you missed below and find the latest on the 2024 presidential election at apnews.com.

Donald Trump held a press conference Thursday in Bedminster , New Jersey in which he said he thinks he’s “ entitled to personal attacks ” on his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris, saying he’s “very angry” at her because of the criminal charges he faces.

Earlier, Harris joined President Joe Biden to announce a deal to lower drug prices , their first joint speaking appearance since she replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket, as they both struggle to convince voters that costs will trend down after years of above-normal inflation.

What to know:

• Harris is set to unveil her economic agenda. Her upcoming speech in North Carolina will preview policies around price gouging on groceries and cutting other costs, as her campaign zeroes in on food and housing prices.
• Trump addressed inflation and the economy Thursday. The Republican presidential nominee blamed inflation directly on government spending, sidestepping some of the more complex realities of global supply chain interruptions during the pandemic and global oil price spikes after Russia invaded Ukraine.
• Vance and Walz plan to debate later this year. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on Oct. 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents as early voting in some states gets underway for the general election .

Trump warns that anti-Israel protestors will descend on next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Trump said that “hundreds of thousands of people that are opposed to Israel” are planning to protest around the events. “There will be no jihad coming to America under Trump,” he said, to applause from the crowd.

Trump called Democrats “a radical group of people,” again criticizing Harris for not attending Netanyahu’s recent speech before a joint session of Congress, traveling to Indiana instead .

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, also did not attend the speech, stumping in Ohio and Virginia.

Harris, however, met with the prime minister privately.

Of Trump, Adelson said there’s just one president in her lifetime that fully shares the values she’s been talking about. “That president is Donald Trump,” she said, to cheers from the gathered crowd, adding that it was a “promised kept” when Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as well as recognizing the Golan Heights and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump is being introduced by GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-born, naturalized U.S. citizen who earned a medical degree from Tel Aviv University and founded drug abuse treatment and research centers in Las Vegas and Tel Aviv.

In her remarks, Adelson talked about the impact of the Israel-Hamas war, saying that “Israel is being demonized,” adding that, “in too many parts of the world, it is open season against the Jews, and antisemitism becomes acceptable.” Miriam is the wife of the late Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors, who died in 2021 .

The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race, and Miriam Adelson is behind some major spending aimed at boosting Trump’s current campaign. Preserve America super PAC, a pro-Trump group backed by her, has reserved $45 million worth of advertising through the end of August.

As president, Trump awarded Miriam Adelson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest honor the nation reserves for a civilian — in 2018.

Trump repeats false claims that Minnesota law requires tampons in boys’ bathrooms

CLAIM: Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “signed a bill that all boys bathrooms in Minnesota will have tampons.”

FACTS: Walz signed a bill in 2023 that requires Minnesota public schools to make tampons available to “all menstruating students.” The law does not mention gender. The relevant section of the law reads: “A school district or charter school must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge.

The products must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district. For purposes of this section, ‘menstrual products’ means pads, tampons, or other similar products used in connection with the menstrual cycle.”

That means a school system could theoretically opt to place dispensers in all bathrooms. But there is no legal requirement that tampons be distributed in boys’ bathrooms — because a system could satisfy the law with dispensers in girls’ restrooms.

Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed he won Pennsylvania in the 2020 election. He did not.

CLAIM: “I won Pennsylvania and I did much better the second time. I won it in 2016, did much better the second time. I know Pennsylvania very well.”

THE FACTS: Trump did win the state in 2016, when he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton to win the presidency. But he lost the state in 2020 to President Joe Biden, a Pennsylvania native. According to the official certified results Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received 3.46 million votes, compared to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence with 3.38 million votes.

Trump is arguing that his presidency brought more national unity than he gets credit for and that he is not actually as brash or bombastic as he often seems on the campaign trail.

“I think I’m doing a very calm campaign,” he said after being asked about some criticism from Republicans who want him to focus less on personal attacks. “Some of you will say, ‘he ranted and raved,’” Trump said, referring to journalists.

“I’m a very calm person, believe it or not,” he said.

He pointed to a criminal justice overhaul enacted when he was president. He did it with Democratic support."When you do that, that’s a big step,” he said, describing a negotiation process involving unusual allies. “Our country was coming together. Success will bring our country together again.”

Trump says he’d welcome Nikki Haley on the campaign trail if she wanted to stump for him.

Asked if he would want Haley to rally support for him, Trump said, “I’d love to have her go around and campaign.”

“I fought Nikki very hard,” Trump said. “I beat her in her own state by legendary numbers. I get along with her fine.” The former South Carolina governor, who was the last remaining GOP opponent against Trump in the primary campaign and served two years as his administration’s ambassador to the United Nations, shuttered her campaign after Trump’s big wins on Super Tuesday.

She didn’t endorse Trump immediately but has since and spoke at last month’s RNC in Milwaukee in support of his candidacy. Otherwise, she has not campaigned for him.

Trump says he feels that he’s earned the right to take on his political opponents in a personal way, citing what he termed the way the justice system has been “weaponized” against him.

It’s a theme Trump often hits in his rally speeches, citing the legal cases against him and characterizing them as politically motivated attacks by Democratic prosecutors and the Biden Justice Department.

On Thursday, asked if he felt he needed to run a more disciplined campaign in the closing months ahead of Nov. 5 and pivot away from making personal attacks on Harris, Trump said, “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks, I don’t have a lot of respect for her, I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she’ll be a terrible president.”

Trump went on to say of Harris that “people don’t know who she is,” explaining that he doesn’t typically use his opponent’s last name because, “You can ask the man on the street, what’s the last name of Kamala?’ Nobody knew.”

Trump’s been encouraging supporters to vote for him early, but he again called for “one-day voting” in elections.

“We should have one-day voting, paper ballots,” Trump said, in part of a response to a question about credit card debt.

Saying that large numbers of early voting is “ridiculous,” Trump also called for “voter ID, and we should have proof of citizenship” for voting in U.S. elections.

Trump claimed the U.S. could suffer an economic collapse akin to the 1929 crash that preceded the Great Depression if Harris wins the election.

CLAIM: “We’re going to have a crash like the 1929 crash if she gets in.”

THE FACTS: Countering Trump’s gloomy predictions, the economy has shown recent signs of strength and stability. On Thursday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.6%, its sixth gain in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also increased, as did the Nasdaq composite.

Recent economic reports show that shoppers increased their retail spending last month and fewer workers sought unemployment benefits.

Fears that the economy was slowing emerged last month following a sharp drop in hiring and higher unemployment rates. But those worries were assuaged earlier this month when a better-than-expected jobless numbers led to Wall Street’s best rally since 2022.

Trump was asked if he had reflected on his assassination attempt and why he felt his life had been saved.

Calling it “a miracle” that he wasn’t more seriously harmed, Trump said that “God has something to do with it. ... And maybe it’s, we want to save the world.”

At the Republican National Convention, Trump spoke in depth about the shooting and said that he wouldn’t make a habit of talking about it, although he has done so frequently at campaign events since.

Trump made it more than 45 minutes into his remarks before bringing up his grievances over the 2020 election. He again implied — falsely — that the election was rigged as he bragged about getting “millions more votes” than he got in 2016 plus “other votes that we can talk about at a different day.”

Indeed, turnout in 2020 was considerably higher than in 2016. Trump’s national vote total jumped from just shy of 63 million to 74.2 million. But Joe Biden got almost 81.3 million votes, up from Hillary Clinton’s 65.9 million votes four years earlier.

Much of Trump’s remarks have been aimed to focus on the economy, and — more than 40 minutes into his event — he made reference to the food items and household goods set up in a display behind him.

“I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said, noticing the cereal box. “I’m going to take them back to my cottage.”

At about 45 minutes in, Trump started taking questions.

But there have been some stem-winding moments, reminiscent of his rallies, where remarks can run an hour and a half.

Trump is promising to eliminate all incentives and mandates that push the U.S. auto market toward electric vehicles. But he’s insistent that he does not oppose EVs — just that he wants market forces and consumer choices to guide the economy.

Trump is going after remarks that Harris made in a Senate confirmation hearing in 2018. He said that Harris had compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the Ku Klux Klan.

In 2018, Harris, then a senator, aggressively questioned acting Director Ronald D. Vitiello of ICE about a comment he had made on social media that compared the Democratic Party to the KKK.

After a heated exchange during the hearing, Harris asked Vitiello, “Are you aware that there’s a perception that ICE is administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation — particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America?”

Donald Trump is 30 minutes into what his campaign billed as a news conference, but he has yet to take questions. He stuck largely to prepared remarks on inflation but has stretched his remarks with various broadsides and anecdotes.

Trump misstated Harris’ role in overseeing border security during his press conference Thursday in Bedminster, N.J.

CLAIM: “She was the border czar but she didn’t do anything. She’s the worst border czar in history ... She was the person responsible for the border and she never went there.”

THE FACTS: Biden tapped Harris in 2021 to work with Central American countries to address the root causes of migration and the challenges it creates. Illegal crossings are one aspect of those challenges, but Harris was never assigned to the border or put in charge of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees law enforcement at the border .

Trump is hammering Harris as a politician who wants to “defund the police.” His characterization of her previous statements is not accurate.

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Harris expressed praise for the “defund the police” movement and questioned whether money was being effectively spent on public safety. But she has not advocated abolishing police forces, the insinuation behind Trump’s line of attack.

Harris did an interview in June 2020 with the “Ebro in the Morning” radio show in New York noting, “This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities.” Her comments were part of a wider critique that police departments have to confront more social problems because other public programs — education, social services, mental health care — are often not funded well enough.

The Biden administration tried to overhaul policing, but the legislation stalled on Capitol Hill, and Biden ultimately settled for issuing an executive order . The administration also pumped more money into local departments.

The pivot to criticizing the Biden-Harris administration on immigration has been a theme of many of Trump’s speeches and events during this campaign cycle, and it’s one the GOP nominee is again renewing during his Bedminster remarks.

After listing off programs he said Harris would threaten as president — saying “she will destroy Medicare, she will destroy Social Security” — Trump then turned back to immigration concerns, overstating the number of people who have come across the U.S.-Mexico border during Biden’s time in office.

It’s a regular feature of modern U.S. elections for Republican nominees to cast Democratic nominees for various offices as “too liberal” or even “socialist.”

Trump has elevated that line of attack on Harris. “She wants to change a free-enterprise-type country into a communist-type country,” he insisted.

Trump’s argument depends heavily on certain positions Harris took as a U.S. senator from California and candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Harris once co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” Senate proposal, but she has backed away from that since the 2020 campaign.

The Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 advocated for a “public option” plan to be added to existing private health insurance exchanges set up under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. That policy would not, as Trump claims, end private health insurance or private health care.

Trump is warning that his Democratic opponent would upend not only the U.S. economy but also American relationships abroad.

“If Kamala wins the election, the worst is yet to come,” Trump said, claiming that Harris is “far more radical” than Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and “wants to change a free enterprise type country into a communist type country.”

On foreign relations, Trump warned that “you’ll have a real problem in the future because people don’t respect her in the world.”

Turning to the grocery items that are surrounding him, Trump quoted various inflation statistics for various staples of U.S. household diets.

But he blasted Harris’ talk of taking on price gouging, including on food, calling it “communist price controls” and “the Maduro plan,” a nod to the authoritarian socialist leader of Venezuela. “She wants price controls,” he said. “They don’t work. ... They lead to food shortages.” He’s adding references to higher car insurance premiums and fuel costs.

So far, Trump has not introduced any of his proposals to confront the situation. He’s opting instead for blaming Harris, because she is Biden’s top lieutenant, and recycling his sweeping predictions that a President Harris would tank the economy.

Trump is opening his latest news conference with renewed attacks that Harris “broke the border and broke the world.”

He is highlighting her role as vice president casting the tie-breaking Senate vote on major spending initiatives for the Biden administration.

As the economy takes center stage in the presidential contest, Trump is blaming inflation directly on government spending — sidestepping some of the more complex realities of global supply chain interruptions during the pandemic and global oil price spikes after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Harris, in turn, has focused the blame on corporate greed, glossing over the effects of considerable stimulus spending by the U.S. and other governments around the world.

Trump has started a news conference outside at his Bedminster resort in New Jersey, where he is speaking surrounded by groceries set on tables.

The former president and Republican nominee is trying to step up his attacks on Vice President Harris, shifting blame for rising prices from Biden to her as she becomes her party standard-bearer.

Trump delivered what was billed as a major address on the economy a day earlier in North Carolina but he spent most of the 75-minute speech on his usual grievances. The news conference marks another opportunity for him to focus his argument on what many political observers believe can be a weak spot for Harris.

For her part, Harris is planning an address on the economy Friday in North Carolina.

At a rally yesterday in North Carolina that his campaign billed as a big economic address, Trump made little effort to stay on message. He mixed pledges to slash energy prices and “unleash economic abundance” with familiar off-script tangents.

He aired his frustration over the Democrats swapping the vice president in place of Biden at the top of their presidential ticket. He repeatedly denigrated San Francisco, where Harris was once the district attorney, as “unlivable” and went after his rival in deeply personal terms, questioning her intelligence, saying she has “the laugh of a crazy person” and musing that Democrats were being “politically correct” in trying to elevate the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.

The former president will meet members of the press at his New Jersey golf club at 4:30 p.m. ET for his second news conference in as many weeks as he adjusts to a newly energized Democratic ticket.

He’ll be flanked by popular grocery store items as he seeks to highlight the rising cost of food.

The event comes one day after the Labor Department announced year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July — the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading. But consumers are still feeling the impact of higher prices and the Trump campaign is hoping to capitalize on those frustrations.

▶ Watch Trump’s New Jersey news conference live

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has released a video of her chatting with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the pair discuss their upbringings and tastes.

Running just under 10 minutes and filmed last week when the pair made a joint campaign appearance in Detroit, the video recalls a similar one then-candidate Joe Biden had with former President Barack Obama during the 2020 campaign.

Walz likens the election to a football game, saying it’s “halftime in America” and he feels like the campaign is trailing by a touchdown, adding, “I kind of like the idea of being a little bit behind.”

Harris, who’s played up her running mate’s former career coaching high school football responds, “I’m looking at Coach Walz right now.”

The vice president asks her running mate about liking what he describes as “white guy tacos,” which he says are ground beef and cheese but no sauce — prompting Harris to note that she’s grown chili peppers at the vice president’s residence.

He tells her about his love of Bruce Springsteen and Harris talks about growing up with the music of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and John Coltrane and her love of Prince. She says she’s “more of a hip hop girl” while her husband, Doug Emhoff, is more partial to Depeche Mode.

Harris talks about supporting policies that don’t “let people fall through the cracks” and trying to unify rather than divide the country.

In the weeks since launching her presidential campaign, Harris hasn’t sat for a major media interview — making her chat with Walz one of the closest approximations.

Former President Donald Trump will speak at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday flanked by popular grocery store items as he seeks to highlight the rising cost of food.

Staff were seen laying out a selection of items, including tubs of instant coffee, sugary breakfast cereals, pastries and fruit, on tables behind the lectern where he’ll speak at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

The event comes one day after the Labor Department announced year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July — the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading.

But consumers are still feeling the effect of higher prices — something Trump’s campaign is banking on to motivate voters this fall.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have appeared together for the first time since she replaced him as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden and Harris spoke at an event at a Maryland community college to talk about the administration’s work to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

They also praised each other.

Harris, who spoke first, said it’s her “eternal and great honor” to serve with Biden, whom she called an “extraordinary human being and American and leader.”

Biden said of Harris, “She’s going to make one hell of a president.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive to speak about their administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs during an event at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md., Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling is touting extensive officer training as a critical part of the city’s preparations for the Democratic National Convention next week.

Roughly 50,000 people are expected in Chicago for the convention, including thousands of anti-war activists who plan to demonstrate near the United Center where Vice President Kamala Harris will officially accept the party’s nomination.

Snelling maintained that the Chicago Police Department — working alongside federal law enforcement agencies — is prepared to deal with large crowds and any security concerns.

“There’s a possibility that things could take a turn. Something could happen that we don’t expect,” Snelling told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We know that our officers can respond in a professional manner with training behind them. They’ll be more effective in decision making. And then the response becomes greater and better.”

FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed paperwork Thursday, June 20, 2024 to get on the ballot for the November election in swing-state Pennsylvania, the state’s election office said. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign suffered a blow this week when a judge in New York invalidated his petition to put his name on the state ballot, a ruling that could potentially create problems for the candidate as he faces challenges elsewhere.

Kennedy’s attorneys filed an appeal Wednesday to a ruling this week from Justice Christina Ryba, who said the residence listed on his nominating petitions was a “sham” address he used to maintain his voter registration and to further his political aspirations. The judge ruled in favor of the challengers, who argued Kennedy’s actual residence was the home in Los Angeles he shares with his wife, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines.

New York is just one of more than a half-dozen states where challenges have been made to Kennedy’s petitions from Democrats and their allies. Some of the challenges allege he falsely listed the same New York address that was the subject of litigation in that state, or that there were problems with petition signatures.

Donald Trump is asking the judge in his New York hush money criminal case to delay his sentencing until after the November presidential election.

In a letter made public Thursday, a lawyer for the former president and current Republican nominee suggested that sentencing Trump as scheduled on Sept. 18 — about seven weeks before Election Day — would amount to election interference.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche wrote that a delay would also allow Trump time to weigh next steps after the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule Sept. 16 on the defense’s request to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling .

“There is no basis for continuing to rush,” Blanche wrote.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio speaks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Byron Center, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

To attendees gathered at a VFW post in New Kensington on Thursday in western Pennsylvania, Vance lauded Trump for putting “in place real policies that really benefit the veterans who served in our military.”

As he opened his remarks, Vance asked attendees to hold a brief moment of silence to commemorate the deaths of 13 service members killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan three years ago, a move by Biden he said occurred “in the most disgraceful way,” also laying blame on Harris.

Vance was introduced by several veterans now serving in Congress, including Florida Reps. Brian Mast and Mike Waltz. Pat Harrigan, a Republican running for the U.S. House in North Carolina, levied harsh criticism on Tim Walz’s record, calling the Minnesota governor “a coward who betrayed his men at their greatest time of need.”

Since Harris named Walz - a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard - as her running mate, Vance has repeatedly questioned his rival’s military credentials, accusing him of retiring to avoid deploying with his unit and saying Walz misled voters about serving in a combat zone, when he was deployed to Italy in 2003 in a supportive, not combat, role.

As he ramped up for a congressional bid in 2005, Walz’s campaign in March issued a statement saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year. In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz’s unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006 .

“Kamala Harris, showing terrible judgment, has decided that her way out of this political problem is to claim that she and Tim Walz are the victims,” Vance said, referencing comments by the campaign pushing back on Republicans’ criticism. “I think the victims are the veterans who are having their service disparaged because the guy who wants to be their vice president is lying instead of telling the truth.”

Vance said he became a member of the VFW Post at which he spoke, saying he’d be back in the future to “have some pancakes, maybe a cigarette, whatever.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration.

Nearly half of Americans say that “committed to democracy” and “disciplined” are attributes that better describe Harris. About 3 in 10 say these qualities better describe Trump.

About 4 in 10 say Harris is someone who “cares about people like you” while about 3 in 10 say that about Trump. About 4 in 10 say “honest” better describes Harris and 24% say that quality better describes Trump.

▶ Read more about the AP-NORC poll

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to hold a rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday in the same venue where Republicans gathered for their national convention last month.

Harris will hold the event at the Fiserv Forum while the Democratic National Convention is underway about 100 miles to the south in Chicago, the Harris campaign said Thursday.

The stop will mark the third time since Harris become the Democratic presidential nominee that she’s come to swing state Wisconsin, a nod to the importance of the state. She held her first rally of the presidential campaign outside Milwaukee and last week stopped in Eau Claire, in western Wisconsin, with her newly selected running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The campaign didn’t say if Walz would be with Harris on Tuesday. The rally is scheduled during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, running mate to Republican Donald Trump, planned to be in Milwaukee on Friday to speak at the Milwaukee Police Association. That would be his second visit to Wisconsin as the vice presidential nominee. He was in Eau Claire last week at the same time as Harris and Walz.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on Oct. 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents as early voting in some states gets underway for the general election.

CBS News on Wednesday posted on its X feed that the network had invited both Vance and Walz to debate in New York City, presenting four possible dates — Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 — as options.

Walz reposted that message from his own campaign account, “See you on October 1, JD.” The Harris-Walz campaign followed up with a message of its own, saying Walz “looks forward to debating JD Vance — if he shows up.”

Vance posted on X that he would accept the Oct. 1 invitation. He also challenged Walz to meet on Sept. 18.

And she’s zeroing in on corporate price gouging.

Her campaign says Harris plans to push for a federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries. She’s putting particular emphasis on rising meat prices, which she says account for a large part of rising grocery bills.

Year-over-year inflation has reached its lowest level in more than three years. But many Americans are still struggling with food prices, which remain 21% above where they were three years ago. Republican Donald Trump has been pointing to inflation as a key failing of the Biden-Trump administration and its energy policies.

Former President Donald Trump invited reporters to his New Jersey golf club Thursday for his second news conference in as many weeks as he adjusts to a newly energized Democratic ticket ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention.

Trump will meet the press as he steps up his criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris for not holding a news conference or sitting down for interviews since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed her to replace him.

▶ Read more about Trump’s scheduled news conference

The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions.

White House officials said Wednesday night they expect U.S. taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications. Those projections, however, were based on dated estimates and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures.

Nonetheless, the newly negotiated prices — still elusive to the public as of early Thursday morning — will affect the price of drugs used by millions of older Americans to help manage diabetes, blood cancers and prevent heart failure or blood clots.

The drugs include the blood thinners Xarelto and Eliquis and diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia. Medicare spent $50 billion covering the drugs last year.

In his first solo appearance as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz warned cheering union members Tuesday that Donald Trump would wage war on working people and threaten Medicare and Social Security as he kicked off a five-state fundraising swing.

He spoke of a grim future for unions if Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are elected, describing a nation where bargaining rights, overtime pay and other protections would be scuttled. He said Trump and Vance have “waged war on working people.”

However, Trump also has courted union support. When he accepted the Republican nomination, he said that he would rescue the auto industry from what he called “complete obliteration.”

Read more about Walz’s 5-state fundraising blitz

Whatever possessed Vice President Kamala Harris to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, it probably wasn’t a desire to inflame arguments about apostrophes. But it doesn’t take much to get grammar nerds fired up .

“The lower the stakes, the bigger the fight,” said Ron Woloshun, a creative director and digital marketer in California who jumped into the fray on social media less than an hour after Harris selected Walz last week to offer his take on possessive proper nouns.

The Associated Press Stylebook says “use only an apostrophe” for singular proper names ending in S: Dickens’ novels, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ life. But not everyone agrees.

While there is widespread agreement that Walz’s is correct, confusion persists about Harris’ vs. Harris’s. Dreyer’s verdict? Add the ’s.

▶ Read more about the political world’s latest grammar debate

Vice President Kamala Harris talks to the media, Friday, June 25, 2021, after her tour of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. Harris visited the U.S. southern border as part of her role leading the Biden administration’s response to a steep increase in migration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Vice President Kamala Harris was never the “border czar,” as her critics claim.

Biden administration officials say she was assigned to tackle the “root causes” of migration from the Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that were responsible for a large chunk of border crossers.

A review of Harris’ work on immigration reveals a record that is more nuanced than the one presented by her critics or allies. It also provides insights into how Harris — who took over as the Democratic standard-bearer when Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month — might tackle one of the nation’s most vexing concerns.

▶ Read more about Harris’ work on immigration

The Democratic National Committee will offer a schedule of trainings, panels and other programming it’s calling “DemPalooza” during the party’s convention in Chicago next week. The name is a play on the Lollapalooza music festival Chicago plays hosts to every year.

“DemPalooza” events will range from trainings on how to use organizing tools to polling briefings and skills workshops. The DNC says these programs are part of its and the Harris campaign’s efforts to organize and reach voters in an evolving media environment and provide opportunities for Democrats to take what they’ve learned back to the communities that will decide the November presidential election.

President Joe Biden leaves after speaking about prescription drug costs at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Dec. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions.

▶ Read the full story here .

Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Trump is expected in court for an important hearing in his New York hush-money criminal case. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.

In a decision posted Wednesday , Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” about his ability to remain impartial.

It’s the third time Merchan has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee. They contend the judge has a conflict of interest because his daughter works as a political consultant for prominent Democrats, including Kamala Harris when she sought the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nomination. Harris is now the party’s nominee against Trump.

The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, met Harris occasionally in 2019 but never “developed an individual relationship” with her, consulting firm founder Mike Nellis told the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in a letter Tuesday. The firm, Authentic Campaigns Inc., has not worked for Harris’ campaign, President Joe Biden’s now-ended reelection bid or the Democratic National Committee in the 2024 election cycle, Nellis said.