You walk into your Oxbridge Economics interview, not really knowing what to expect, and the Professor of Econometrics and Mathematical Economics in-front of you cuts into the conversation with a faint smile and a gentle shrug: “So, tell me about the ‘dismal science’?”
Now, if all is well, you will happen to recall that it was Thomas Carlyle who first coined the phrase the ‘dismal science’ in reference to the discipline of Economics. And with that as the starting point, you go on to share your own understanding on this matter: examining the ways in which Economics may be deemed ‘dismal’, and exploring the sense in which Economics is an inexact science.
But surely it would have been almost impossible to prepare for such a question in advance? I agree. Nonetheless, I believe that there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success…
1. Make sure that you really work on your Personal Statement, in terms of getting across your interest in the subject and conveying your aptitude for the subject. More importantly, sending off the Personal Statement is not the end of the matter! Oxbridge interviews will very often hone in on certain elements of your personal statement. So if you mention a certain book you’ve read (e.g. Stiglitz’s ‘Globalisation and its Discontents’), or a specific theoretical point (e.g. the ‘multiplier effect’), be prepared to talk about them.
2. Try to develop a good grasp of a broad range of basic theoretical topics in Economics (if possible), and be comfortable with Mathematics (Cambridge tends to place more onus on A-level Mathematics & Further Mathematics than A-level Economics). And try to delve a little deeper into technicalities if possible. Be exact with definitions. For example, ‘the dead-weight loss of a tax can be defined as the amount in excess of the tax revenue that those whom the tax falls on would pay for the removal of the tax’. As strange as that definition might appear to a non-economist, the central idea connected with this definition and what we mean by a 'dead-weight loss' hinges on the inherent inefficiencies connected with taxes. For example, an emissions tax which generates £1m in tax revenue for the government may well impose costs to consumers/producers/government in terms of higher prices/higher production costs/enforcement costs which actually exceed the total tax revenue raised. This is effectively the 'dead-weight loss' that captures those costs imposed as a direct result of tax inefficiencies.
3. Follow current affairs (via ‘the Financial Times’/’the Economist’/online sources), so that if a question comes up relating to the current economic climate, you would be prepared to present a good answer.
Above all, Oxbridge interviewers are trying to see how you approach and think through questions. So it is important that you present your ideas and thought processes in a clear manner. Even if you get a question wrong, a good direction-of-approach and logical steps to solving the problem may be more favourably received than a correct answer without demonstration of genuine understanding.
Stay confident, keep your composure, and may luck be on your side!
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