“ Economics teaches me how to model a system and build analysis based on it "
Mingmei Xiao studied economics for her BA and master and is currently specializing in econometrics (particularly causal inference) for her PhD. Before her PhD, Mingmei had some experiences working as a summer intern in economic journalism (China Economic Weekly) and the China Household Finance Survey.
Why economics?
“ I took economics because it shows me how changes and developments of a grand and complicated system could be broken down and traced back to the strategic interactions of individuals. It teaches me a way of understanding the world and the events happening every day. In particular, I’m drawn to econometrics because it uses real-world data to aid economic modeling and inference so that we could have a clearer picture of the current economic situation, make better economic forecasts, and give more reliable policy suggestions. All this fascinates me and motivates me to develop better tools for economic analysis. ”