Date: 21st December 2009

Mrs. S. Martens
Department of Economics
Erasmus School of Economics
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Subject: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR THE POSITION OF DOCTORAL

STUDENT IN APPLIED MACROECONOMICS

Respected Madam,

When introduced to economics in high school I realized that it interestingly

qualified as a subject of both Arts and Science. It was an area defined by precise rules,
principles and axioms and yet there was tremendous scope for self-expression in the
form of interpretation and analysis. This facet of economics intrigued me very much
and I decided to pursue further studies in Economics.

During my Masters in Applied Science (MAS) in Economics program (course

work of M.Phil Economics) at Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC),
University of Karachi I equipped myself as best as I could, with various tools used in
economic analysis. I obtained rigorous training in mathematics and econometrics
(such as ARMA, ARIMA, VAR, Co-integration and VECM). After completing the
MAS program, I joined National College of Business Administration & Economics
(NCBA&E), where I completed my MPhil (Applied Economics) thesis, I did some
research work here, which is described in my resume. Currently, I am PhD student in
the Department of Economics, GC University Lahore and I have done my course
work of PhD. I want to delve deeper into the subject to be able to carry out
independent research and analysis, hence my decision to join the position of Doctoral
Student in Applied Macroeconomics at Erasmus School of Economics,
Rotterdam.

During my job and studies I aim to equip myself with some advanced tools
and develop my analytical and research capabilities. I want to get an excellent
command over applied research and econometrics to be able to confront stochastic
statistical data with exact models of macroeconomic theories and also for empirical
verification of other models. I expect to emerge as an expert in macroeconomics
model building. Econometrics and macroeconomics are my favourite subjects of
economics and I might like to research in this field. I want to be an academic
economist. Pakistani Universities have very few experts in Quantitative Economics
tools such as Econometrics. That’s why I am highly interested to get this golden
opportunity to enhance my research capabilities at the Erasmus School of Economics,
Rotterdam.

I want to work and research at Erasmus School of Economics as it

emphasizes on the rigor and analytical tools that are necessary for academic research.
I have well-developed analytical and mathematical skills and I want to exploit these
skills to the greatest extent. I feel the help and guidance that can be provided to me by
the distinguished faculty members and researchers of your university will be
invaluable. I am sure if I am given the opportunity to work at your university that
attracts some of the best researchers from all over the world, it will provide an
environment competitive enough to bring out the best in me.

I hope that the selection committee will find my background and strengths
commensurate with the requirements of Erasmus School of Economics.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Asim Iqbal
asimiqbal12@gmail.com
42/10 Gulshan Park Moghal Pura Lahore.