The University of the West Indies, Mona

Nicholas A. Wright is a graduate student in the Department of Economics at the University of the West Indies. He completed his Bachelors of Science degree in Economics and Political Science (Double), graduating with first class honours and the highest Grade Point Average in the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2012. He was the recipient of the Ambassador Sue Cobb Scholarship in 2011 and current holds the Bank of Jamaica G. Author Brown Memorial Scholarship. His other academic achievements include receiving the renowned Nethersole Award as the best performing student in the Department of Government in 2012 and the Alfred A. Francis Award for demonstrating the best performance in undergraduate Econometrics. Nicholas was also shortlisted for the Jamaican Rhode Scholarship in 2012 and the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for excellence in Academics in 2014. 

Nicholas is currently employed as an Adjunct Tutor of Research Methodology at the University of the West Indies. He is also an aspiring economic researcher and has worked with several distinguished Researchers including Dr. Abdullahi Abdulkadri, Dr. Lloyd Waller and Professor Ian Boxill. As an independent researcher, he has served in the capacity as Chief Economist Consultant for projects with the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica, the Office of the Children’s Advocate, Grace Kennedy Limited and UWI Press among others. These associations have been critical to Nicholas’s success to date, providing an application of learned principles and also providing a conduit for him to learn the many tools utilized in practice. 

Nicholas has a few working papers, the most current focusing on the estimation of the equilibrium exchange rate for Jamaica. This paper was written while on internship at the Bank of Jamaica amidst permeating rhetoric of the Jamaica dollar being uncompetitive. The paper has been applauded as being insightful and was presented at the 45th Annual Monetary Studies Conference. However, Nicholas’s main research interest lies in Education and Health Economics, evaluating how an equitable education system ought to be arranged and how education financing ought to be structured. Nicholas hopes to investigate these issues at the doctoral level in the near future. His medium term goal is to establish himself as a leading Public Economist, specializing in Health and Education. He envisions himself working in either academia, public policy or both.  

Nicholas is the first in his family to attend university but could not be on the road to success without the strong support of his family, mentors and close friends. Nicholas is consumed by a self-imposed imperative to fully explore the boundaries of his intellectual capabilities and embodies the endless possibilities that can be achieved when intense effort is exerted.