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Hi everyone, I am applying for a Scholarship to study at Lancaster and would appreciate

as much critique on my essay.

I could still remember the image of the young boy eating his plate of rice as though it was

his first in days and his last for days to come. His tattered faded brown shorts spoke ofthe malaise he had endured in his short life. The saddening images of the events that had

taken place that day were still so vivid in my mind as I walked the dusty path to a house

that reeked of bat excreta. Although I had walked the path twice before, this time themuffling sound of the flowing Mambilima River metres away was only white noise to my

ears. Not once did I stop, as I had done before, to gaze at the sun setting magnificently

above the glistening river. Instead, I could only hear the physiotherapist lament the

abuses the children had been through. I heard the caretakers yell at the disabled childrento hurry to their seats. Instead, I saw villagers scurrying for left over food and take them

home for their children to eat. I couldn't help but feel saddened and upset as the images

flashed before my eyes. My experiences that week at Mambilima Special School for the

disabled moved me deeply and feelings of helplessness soon turned into a fiery passion tomake a difference. I soon realised that the poverty I witnessed at Mambilima was a

testament of the prevalence of severe scarcity and poor income distribution in thecountry. This drew me to study economics because Economists are able to explain and

affect people's livelihood. In my opinion, Economics is about understanding people as

consumers, producers, competitors and above all as human beings with innate emotions.This inherent proximity to everyday life fascinates me the most.

I have always enjoyed and been strong in areas that require problem solving, analytical

and mathematical skills so I was anxious to combine my aptitude for these skills with myinterest in economics. As a result, I chose to study Economics in combination with

Finance for my undergraduate degree because these fields complement each otherexceptionally well. My final year dissertation on "Determinants of Aggregate ImportDemand in Zambia" gave a better understanding of the dynamics of the Zambian

Economy. And recently, I have found this useful as I write a paper at the Bank of Zambia

on "Time Series Properties and Volatility of Kwacha Exchange Rates". The purpose ofthis study is to help broaden the assessments of policymakers and add to the volume of

work on this topic.

While employed at the Bank of Zambia, I have come to understand some of thechallenges and opportunities that policymakers face especially in implementing policy

that seeks to improve the livelihood of Zambia's poorest people. One of the pertinent

issues in Zambia and the world-over is the development of efficient and resilient financialmarkets. It is a well known fact that a well developed financial market improves

economic performance through the development of financial products that allow effective

allocation of saving to enable more investment in the economy. Efficient financialmarkets also provide more opportunities for poor people to participate in the economy

through the elimination of information asymmetry. Thus in the long run, I would like to

contribute to the development of financial markets by working as a Financial Economist

at a Central Bank or other financial institution and studying the MPhil in Economics at

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Lancaster will be the beginning of my intellectual odyssey. In the second year of the

program I would like to conduct research on Stochastic Volatility models, Exchange rates

and Microstructure effects of Foreign Exchange markets especially in the context ofZambia. I have communicated my research interest with Dr Peter Saints in the faculty of

Economics at Lancaster who thought it would be interesting. At present there are few

studies that I have come across during my research that use stochastic volatility modelsand microstructure effects to analyse the behaviour of Kwacha exchange rates. What

attracts me most to the economics program at Lancaster is the wealth of world-renown

academic researchers and the department's reputation for producing high quality ofresearch. I am confident that this environment meets my research expectations.

Moreover, the program's pedagogy trains students to use research skills and encourages

them to think critically about their work.