My first realization of an economic issue occured 12 years ago when I moved from Lisbon to São Paulo, Brazil. In many aspects the differences between the two countries were striking, and I was particularly shocked when I learned that brazilian minimum wage was one fifth that of the portuguese. At the time, I questioned how two countries could have such different minimum wages and subsequently how Brazilians survived with such low income.
Throughout the years I continued to see these economic contrasts originating from my experience with Portugal and Brazil were also present in other dimensions ranging from quality of public transportation, the average levels of education, and the functioning public health systems, among others. The concious awareness of these countless economic systems in everyday life has cummulated my interest in this field and following high school, economics was a natural choice for undergraduate studies.
Upon entering at São Paulo School of Economics (EESP-FGV), I realized that answering my simple curiosity on minimum wage differences through economics was much more complex than thought. Economics became a powerful tool for me through which I could study broad and complex cross-country variations such as minimum wages as well as more focused issues explaining average levels of education. Looking back my path of choosing economics has been challenging, interesting, and exciting. With continued momentum from my previous training, I am eager to continue to learn and contribute to this field in the future with my colleagues.
During my undergraduate studies, I trained in and acquired solid knowledge in both micro and macroeconomic theory as well as statistics, econometrics and mathematics. Para...
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...des my current research, my future research interests lie in Macroeconomics and Applied Econometrics, more specifically, in the effects of monetary and fiscal policy from theoretical and empirical perspectives. Given these interests, it would be an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to work and train with **Professor X** and **Professor Y**.
Upon completion of my graduate studies, my career aspirations are to achieve a position as researcher with the International Monetary Fund. I believe that the Department of Economics and PhD program at **** is the ideal venue to achieve these objectives, because it would allow me to master state of the art techniques for economic research and to acquire research experience through the work and contact with one of the world’s best faculty and the high quality graduate student body admitted to your program each year.
Ramisch, Claudia. ?Living on Minimum Wage.? ENGL 1302H Class Presentation, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, KY. 13 March 2006.
While other children watched their favorite cartoon or played their favorite video game, reading business articles and watching the fluctuations seen in the stock market enthralled me. Renowned leaders in the business world have always been of interest to me, specifically Warren Buffet. My favorite quote by Buffet is “It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than you and you’ll drift in that direction.” By attending CMU, I would personify this quote. Growing up, my parents have instilled into me, many essential values, such as working hard and “being the best me I could be.” I have always expected a lot from myself, but high expectations from my parents and close friends, have increased my work ethic and lifted my goals and aspirations even higher. For that reason, I hope to challenge myself through the prestigious Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Science’s economics curriculum. The undergraduate economics program would prepare me for a vast array of careers. Jobs in policy, law, and business are all possible, or if one desires to go to some sort of post graduate school, that is also possible. By having such a top-notch education, I would surely be closer to achieving my goal of receiving my MBA from Tepper. In making all this possible, a wide range of classes must be made available. Classes that are available in just about any economics curriculum, like Intermediate Economics, are also available here, but classes like Behavioral Economics and Global Electronic Markets are what makes CMU unique. Another attractive aspect of CMU is the jointly administered economics degree by Dietrich and Tepper. I feel this will make for a solid foundation in the field of econo...
In the 1500s Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on Brazil, previously a inhabited by tribal nations, and claimed the land in the name of Portugal. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until September 7, 1822 when it declared its independence becoming the Empire of Brazil making the nation a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. In early 1964, a Military junta took control of the nation until it fell in 1985 further changing the structure of the nation, and finally in 1988 a formal constitution was created enacting 26 states encompassing its boarders. Throughout the history of Brazil, the nation was never able to fully immerse itself in the international market and expand its economy, until today. Latin America has not had the best of luck when it comes to economic development and many nations in Latin America have similar issues when it comes to economic and societal development, and many of these issues are cause by the same things. For example, before the military coup in 1964 Brazil was in massive amounts of debt to international partners, however, during the military rule the payment of this debt was halted so the trust and economic backing of countries stopped with the payments. Many plans have been enacted after the fall of the military control to reverse the economic downfall that occurred in the country and continent in the 20th century and especially in the 1980s, the lost decade. In Brazil alone, there have been at least seven economic plans to reverse the economic hardships of the country, from the Cruzado Plan to the Real Plan, none seemed to work. However, in the past decade the Brazilian economy has seen an amazing increase and the condition of life of the people in the nation has increased with it. The quest...
Brazil is a vast country in South America that has experienced extreme wealth and income disparities since its independence in 1822. The uneven income distribution, combined with several other factors, is what accounts for millions of civilians living in impoverished conditions. The Northeast is the country’s most afflicted region, with an estimated 58% of the population living in poverty and earing less than $2 a day. The systemic inequality as well as lack of development and modernization has generated chronic poverty that has had detrimental effects on society in northeast and ultimately weakens Brazil.
The minimum wage has been a policy tool used in the United States since its establishment with the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. It has been uses as a tool to remedy some of the effects of poverty by raising the wages of the low wage workers. It has long been the worthy goal of many policy makers to find solutions to alleviate pove...
Przeworski, A., 2004. Capitalism, Development and Democracy. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 24, No. 4 (96), Pp. 489-497
The debate on the federal minimum wage is an ongoing issue. Both supporters and opponents to the minimum wage have valid arguments and multiple studies to defend their rationale. However, these studies and statistical reports may be concent...
Linda Gorman. "Minimum Wages." The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. 2008. Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from the World Wide Web: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/MinimumWages.html
Brazil, the world’s seventh largest economy by nominal GDP, the sixth largest by purchasing power parity (The World Bank. 2016.), one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world, with an average annual GDP growth rate of over 5% (Blankfeld. 2010.). On paper, evaluating based on GDP, Brazil has acquired status that of developed country, surpassing United Kingdom, Sweden, most European
Learning is a continuous process and the day that you stop learning is the day that you start decreasing your rewards and lower levels of satisfaction. My ardent desire to acquire knowledge has motivated me to pursue higher studies at graduate level, and to take up a career in research in industry. I have taken this decision after carefully considering my academic background, profound interest in research and strong aptitude for problem solving.
The country of Brazil is comprised of 159 million people (1997). There are estimated to be around 150,000 indigenous people that live in the Amazon jungle. One third of the population works in agriculture and tends to have lower incomes and worse living conditions than the rest of the population. Mining is also a large industry and Brazil is the leading producer of iron ore. Many of these colonies are run by foreign companies who employ both workers from their own countries and native people. The unemployment rate runs about 7.5% and the literacy rate runs about 70%. However, it is a known fact that many of these numbers are made up by the Brazilian government. The real literacy rate runs around 30-50% and the unemployment rate is certainly higher.
McEachern, W. A. (2012). Macroeconomics: A contemporary introduction (10th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
I develop and deliver technical solutions to collection of applications used by retail giants across the globe. My responsibilities have given me scenarios to put on my problem solving and interpersonal skills in real life situations. Frequent interactions with client aroused in me, an urge to get into a management consultant role. But, with time I realized that I have to upgrade my skill-sets and make myself more relevant and attractive to the job market. I also realized that I have to diversify my aspects of management such as leadership, entrepreneurship and finance etc. and Broad MBA will equip me with these skills and will increase chances of succeeding in my goals, manifold. After accomplishing virtuous knowledge of IT industry, I believe that Broad MBA program will help me learn more about business problems drawn from real-life scenarios and prepares me to take the next step toward career success. I believe Broad is more than just a place to learn. Through Broad MBA, I will not only shorten my learning cycle but also get a chance to learn from world class faculty, established curriculum and diverse peer groups. This innovative pedagogy will help me put the big foot forward towards my goals, build a professional and personal network and edify me as where to look for information and how to interpret it, when required. The Broad is well respected for the quality of its program, which has been recognized for its cutting edge design and delivery, with rankings that indicate its place among the top tier programs around the world. It will help me create a unique learning experience and it will be my passport to new world of opportunities. While global economic vagueness make me, insecure but I believe that now these challenges wil...
A sensitive topic for many Americans is their income. Many people’s income relies on minimum wage. In 2012, 3.6 million people received an hourly pay at or below minimum wage. There is an ongoing debate in government as to what the minimum wage should be. Stuck at $7.25, Obama has suggested raising the minimum wage to $9.00. Depending on a person’s perspective, raising minimum wage could be positive or negative. Minimum wage has the ability to change lives, and change the economy. Small businesses and unemployment, teenage demographics, and the cost of civilian goods would be most affected.The only mystery is whether things would change for the better or for the worse.
In today's world, economics associated disciplines are of fundamental significance and application and this has encouraged me to pursue a degree in Economics. Economics has an important relevance in all of our lives. As consumers we try to make the best of our limited incomes. As workers we take our place in the job market. As citizens of a country our lives are affected by the decisions of our government: decisions over taxes, decisions over spending on health and education, decisions on interest rates, decisions that affect unemployment, inflation and growth. As dwellers on the planet Earth we are affected by the economic decisions of each other: the air we breathe, the water we drink and the environment we leave for future generations are all affected by the economic decisions taken by the human race. It is these stimulating issues that excite me about economics. I enjoy studying Economics enormously and believe my passionate interest in economics is continually strengthened by my regular reading of 'The Economist'