The College warmly congratulates Jem Perry (PPE, 2023) who has been awarded a Kennedy Scholarship to Harvard University. As he departs Oxford, we asked him to tell us more about his time at Queen’s and what he’s looking forward to next.
Congratulations on receiving a Kennedy Scholarship. Can you tell us what the scholarship will enable you to do at Harvard, and what it means to have been selected?
Thank you! The Kennedy Scholarship is an amazing opportunity, and I feel very honoured to have received it. 60 years ago, the first Kennedy Scholars departed for the United States as a living memorial to President Kennedy who championed the progressive power of education. It is an enormous privilege to carry on that legacy and to join a cohort of similarly passionate scholars.
Harvard is home to many exceptional academics I am excited to learn from, especially within its renowned economics department. A unique opportunity afforded by the Kennedy Scholarship is the freedom to take courses at Harvard which might not ordinarily all fit together in a degree programme. Economics is increasingly expressed in the language of mathematics and utilises sophisticated statistical techniques. At Harvard I plan to take courses in mathematics so I can fully engage with leading research as well as broadening my experience by taking classes in public policy.
You’ll be undertaking a special studentship in macroeconomics, building on your interest in how economic research can inform real-world policy. What drew you to these questions, and what are you hoping to explore during your time at Harvard?
As a school student learning economics for the first time, unemployment; inflation and economic growth dominated popular economic discussion and macroeconomics only drew me in further as an undergraduate. Trying to understand and obtain useful insights about a system concerning the aggregate behaviour of so many complex parts is a fascinating challenge. I am particularly drawn to recent research undertaken at Harvard and elsewhere which aims to embrace this complexity and model heterogeneity between individuals, such as income and wealth disparity, instead of artificially imposing a single, representative agent.
Understanding economics matters beyond just being an academic puzzle. Questions of prosperity and the fair distribution of the fruits of that prosperity are fundamental to our lives.
I also think understanding economics matters beyond just being an academic puzzle. Questions of prosperity and the fair distribution of the fruits of that prosperity are fundamental to our lives. It is an often-repeated fact that the UK and many similar countries have experienced stagnating productivity and economic growth since the global financial crisis and so this is an interesting moment to be examining the macroeconomy, what levers we have to shape it for the better, and what trade-offs exist in doing so. Many of the economic debates that rage in our public discourse at the moment, whether about a wealth tax, regulating banks, the costs of inflation, tackling NEETs or social care, are of course about our values and priorities, but I believe they can be improved and made clearer by high-quality research, analysis and evidence. Acquiring the skills to contribute to these debates would be a real privilege.
Looking back over your time at Queen’s, how have your academic interests evolved since you first arrived as a PPE student?
I chose to study PPE because of the breadth of the course and I have yet to find a paper I haven’t enjoyed. When I arrived, I expected my interests to narrow over time, and whilst I have a focus on economics, I have also left with the impression that exploring multiple perspectives on the same problem or question is invaluable. For example, considerations of human social behaviour or of justice are just as important as formal models and sharing tutorials with other students who have taken different paths through PPE enriches the discussions in a hugely positive way.
Sharing tutorials with other students who have taken different paths through PPE enriches the discussions in a hugely positive way.
You spent last summer interning at the Bank of England. How did that experience shape your thinking about the relationship between academic research and public policy?
The Bank of England was an amazing place to spend a summer working. It is certainly somewhere research meets practical policy and to a greater degree than I expected. There are some examples of academic research that look at first glance quite abstract, but can be used to great practical effect in the Bank’s day to day operations. For example, auction design research produced by Oxford’s Professor Klemperer is used every day at the Bank. Equally, other aspects of the Bank’s work illustrate the value of experience and judgement, and how it can influence and stimulate new directions for academic research, especially in response to changing economic circumstances. My overall impression is that a healthy symbiosis between both worlds is vital for each.
In what ways did Queen’s help you develop the confidence and skills to pursue opportunities like this?
I am very grateful for the support and advice of all of my tutors here at Queen’s who have been generous with their time and experience. I have also benefited enormously from being surrounded by a community of students who excel in a wide range of academic fields and which also includes athletes and talented musicians. I found that atmosphere infectious and it gave me the confidence to be ambitious myself and aim for something that I thought was a long shot.
I am very grateful for the support and advice of all of my tutors here at Queen’s who have been generous with their time and experience.
As you leave Queen’s for Harvard, what will you miss most about College?
It may seem a cliché, but I will certainly miss the tight-knit community at Queen’s. We have a lovely tradition of eating all our meals together in Hall which has been a real stalwart of my time at College. Equally, the chance to experience the exhilarating highs and lows of Summer Eights with the mighty Queen’s College Boat Club will stay with me forever. I suspect I will be back visiting Queen’s sooner than I think!
I will certainly miss the tight-knit community at Queen’s. We have a lovely tradition of eating all our meals together in Hall which has been a real stalwart of my time at College.
