Margarita Koukouma
Margarita is originally from Cyprus and is now studying economics at the University of Bristol. She received the “Outstanding Learner Award” from Pearson for the highest score in the world for International A-level economics!
Why did you choose to study economics?
I chose economics because I like to gain deeper understanding on how the society works and its complexity. Make well-informed decisions based on the facts so that you can form factual judgments by using models and mathematical analysis to create trends, conclusions, and evaluations on costs and benefits. Because economics is such a broad field, it helps you understand how society functions and the various macro and micro issues that arise. As a result, studying economics will equip me with the analytical and problem-solving abilities I need to develop successful policies that tackle pressing societal issues such as healthcare, poverty, inequality, development, and environmental sustainability. Finally, there are many different career options in economics, so I can pursue any path I want.
How would you describe economics?
Economics is a social science, its based on human behaviour, and models which cannot be accepted or rejected like hard sciences do in a lab. Economics is complex because it requires to predict human actions which are frequently unexpected and irrational. The study of economics is split into two-part, microeconomics and macroeconomics. To further explain, micro, is the analysis of how individuals and producers in an economy react, macro, is the analysis of economies, on a larger scale. Economics studies how the agents in a society react to each other and allocate resources, the production process, consumption, and distribution. It also, examines the trade-offs that an economy faces especially those faced by a government when a new policy is put in action. Economics often has to assess how the world faces the greatest economic problem: unlimited wants with the limited resources available.
If you had a time machine and could meet your 16-year-old self, what advice would you give them?
If I could travel back in time to 16 years old, I would probably tell myself not to put too much pressure or stress on myself at such a young age. Not to worry about every little thing, and that getting a "bad" grade on an exam doesn't mean the end of the world. No one knows everything, it’s all part of the process. In addition, I would advise my 16-year-old self to never give up, and fight for her dreams and ambitions because, in the end, everything turns out and is well worth the effort.
What is your favourite part of economics?
My favourite part of the subject is being able to analyse everyday problems and draw logical, complex conclusions while also understanding how economies function globally. Macroeconomics is my favourite part since it emphasises how economies function and focuses on topics like growth, interest rates, inflation, and policies—all of which I find particularly interesting to understand and focus on the trade-offs faced. All of which after studying and understand economics you see that they are all interrelated.
Especially after living in these unprecedented times of the global pandemic and the wars, it has drawn my interest especially on inflation and how the closedown of economics has disrupted the production process because they are over depended in globalisation and specialisation all of which I want to gain further knowledge.
Is there anything you would do differently if you had the chance?
I do not believe I would do anything differently if I had the chance because I am happy with where I managed to reach up to now, being an undergraduate student in one of the UK’s top 10 universities.