Thomas Amoani
Thomas is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Finance at Brunel University London. He is an aspiring economist and a member of the Discover Economics "Student Champion " programme - find out more in the "get involved" now!
Why did you choose to study economics?
I think my journey to discovering Economics was rather ironic because from a younger age I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I chose to study Economics in high school only because my best friend was in the same class. But then that’s where the magic started. I fell in love with the subject immediately after the first class, which was “What is economics?”. So, upon completion of high school, I realised that I love and can’t do without economics, and I am good with mathematics, so the fact that economics is full of maths and has interesting diagrams that can be used to explain almost everything about the world made me want to see what is next.
How would you describe economics?
In simple terms, I would say Economics, as a social science, studies human behaviour and decision-making in response to the insatiability of their needs but having scarce resources to provide them, and then provides how to maximise living with the fundamental problem of scarcity of resources. However, this is complicated by the fact that human behaviour is often irrational and unpredictable. To navigate this, economists build theories and mathematical models to interpret and make sense of the world around us. I put everything this way: Economics is not a subject; it is the stage. The world is the play, and every choice we make is a line in the script. Remove economics, and the stage vanishes. Remove the world, and the play has no purpose. In the end, economics isn’t just in the world. Economics is the world.
If you had a time machine and could meet your 16-year-old self, what advice would you give them?
First, I'd tell him to take the same approach he did with economics in high school, just more of it. More curiosity, more hands-on exploration, and even more fun. Because in just two years, he'll crush his exams and fly abroad. Second, I'd urge him to keep an open mind, read more beyond economics, learn to think critically, write and speak with precision, articulately and deliberately, and to learn to be an attentive listener. And also, to worry less!
What is your favourite part of economics?
First, I LOVE Economics in general, but I super-duper love Macroeconomics. I like how this aspect of Economics builds theories and models that answer most of the questions about the major problems facing our world, like unemployment, inflation, inequality, and achieving economic growth, among others. I also enjoy the mathematical nature of economics in this aspect, as well as the use of analytical diagrams to explain almost everything. That said, I also believe in economic individualism, which means I can't fully appreciate the big picture without understanding the pieces that form it. That's where Microeconomics comes in, particularly Behavioural Economics, which explains why people make the choices they do.
Is there anything you would do differently if you had the chance?
I would like to get at least a Bachelor’s degree in either Philosophy, Psychology, Pure Mathematics, or Arts.