A Rising Star in Economics

Adam McGeoch recently was awarded the John Mather Trust Rising Star award. Here, he talks about his ambitions for the future in Economics.

I was extremely grateful and honoured to be considered for this incredible award and I’d like to start by thanking both Strathclyde Business School for nominating me and the John Mather Trust for giving me this opportunity.

My parents always told me that “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”. However, when I joined Strathclyde Business School, I had no idea how much of a passion I was soon to develop. I have always been an analytical thinker and have enjoyed the power that graphs and tables have in explaining some complex facts, which is what I love about economics. I genuinely enjoy learning about all things economics; when I am not reading a textbook, I’m reading “Freakonomics”, “Nudge” or trying to understand the language used by Adam Smith in “The Wealth of Nations”.

My strongest interest lies with microeconomics because I find the mathematical elements to it enjoyable and I find studies in game theory and risk/insurance extremely fascinating. My interest in the financial crisis is what led me to investigate the lending regulation of mortgages post-crisis in my Carnegie-funded vacation scholarship in the summer of 2017.

My Carnegie research involved writing a 15,000 word report on the impact that the Mortgage Market Review has had on mortgage lending the UK, and this internship enhanced my skills in economics research as I had to do my first ever literature review and gather my own data for it. I thoroughly enjoyed my research – it was difficult and at times frustrating but I was extremely proud of the end result. It was an achievement I will never forget.

This research helped when it came to my dissertation this year and it allowed me to enjoy it a lot more because I had the opportunity to apply the skills I’d acquired during the internship. My dissertation has investigated the influence that demographic change has on first-time buyer house prices and I’ve found this question in urban economics extremely interesting. I find studying the housing market, whether through the lens of lending or through real price changes, enthralling and I imagine that my future research will involve credit, housing and demographic change, all of which are concerns for the Scottish Government.

I’ve recently accepted an offer from the University of Edinburgh to study for an MSc in Economics from 2018-19 and I’m thrilled to start this new chapter where I will meet new economists, new friends and enjoy life in a different city.

The Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics is a collaborative programme between eight of Scotland’s universities – including Strathclyde – and is currently administered via the University of Edinburgh. It’s a highly respected course which will take me one step closer to my dream career as an economist for the Scottish Government. This ambition has been a driving force in my undergraduate studies and has pushed me to achieve the best I can.

Undertaking the MSc in Economics is crucial for me to open doors both in the labour market and future study. The Rising Star Award will help with the fees involved in this as well as enable me to, attend conferences to help my learning and fund any research travel for my thesis – I’ll be able to carry out valuable research without boundaries.

I want to use my Economics learning to make a difference in Scotland, whether that be assisting with policy making to ensure more affordable housing, or providing policy makers with advice on dangerous lending practices which could prevent another financial crisis. Hopefully one day I can be a chief economist, directing Scotland’s economy in the right direction.

About Adam McGeoch

Adam McGeoch studied BA Honours Economics at Strathclyde Business School.