慶應義塾大学　経済学部　PEARL入試　志望理由書　提出例(山田 浩之先生ゼミ向け)

慶應義塾大学　経済学部　PEARL入試　志望理由書　提出例(山田 浩之先生ゼミ向け)

Dr. Hiroyuki Yamada

Professor

Department of Economics, Development Economics 

Keio University

Dear Professor Yamada,

I am writing this letter to explain my motivation in applying for Department of Economics at Keio University, specializing in development economics and related social policies. As we are exposed to more information and changes than ever, the need for us to truly understand and process them only get bigger. I have read a number of your published work which I was very intrigued by. I hope I am able to highlight my area of studies that I think is very much relevant, and I would be more than grateful if you could kindly give this a consideration. 

Introduction
A number of studies have consolidated a number, a woman earns 77 % of what a man does, and it will take more than 70 years before the gap is closed. There is roughly 15% or higher wage difference based on gender around the world, for the majority part it was due to religious beliefs in Christianity and Islamic groups. However in modern society, contribution of men and women is almost equal in terms of social, labor, education and many other factors. In the battle for the parity of the sexes, some countries have made progress in reducing inequality—such as in access to health care, education, and financial services—but worldwide, men still have more economic opportunities than women. If that so, do we see gender wage inequality in developing countries that are experiencing socio economic changes in the last decades such as Cambodia and Vietnam for example? 

Discussion
A recent report from UN Women, comparing the estimates of female wage equations and male wage equations, it suggests that better education raise wages for both women than men, and women who work as high skill white collar receive more benefits than female. But somehow there is always 5-20% difference in overall wage even in newly arising economies. When considering all of the data that indicate Vietnam is ahead of most other countries in gender equality – like the percentage of women who are in the labor force or who are chief executive officers – it is easy to overlook the fact that men still have an edge in so many areas. The average income of women in the Southeast Asian country is $224 (5.2 million Vietnam dong) a month, according to figures released in March by Adecco Vietnam, a firm that sells staffing services. That pay level amounts to just 81% of the average income of men. Most of the 3.9 billion people who are offline are in rural areas, poorer, less educated and tend to be women and girls and the path to complete equality for all of them is going to be a long journey.

Summary
Vietnam probably has some insight for the rest of the world on equality and with the prospect of our society becoming even more interdependent with other countries, it is crucial we open our eyes to what other countries excel in doing than we do. I assume this can add a good case study and collect useful panel data points conducted in your seminar and I would love to take part. Thank you very much for taking the time to read and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely yours,

*“Convergence of Public and Private Enterprise Wages in a Transition Economy: Evidence from a Distributional Decomposition in Vietnam, 2002-2014”, with Tien Manh Vu, forthcoming, Economic Systems *“Decomposing Vietnamese Gender Equality in Terms of Wage Distribution”, with Tien Manh Vu, Pacific Economic Review, Volume 23, Issue 5, 705-731, 2018