EPQ PRESENTATION Armand Khusul PRESENTATION STRUCTURE 1 The

EPQ PRESENTATION Armand Khusul

PRESENTATION STRUCTURE 1. The learning process 2. The essay/argument

INITIAL IDEAS • The economics behind sustainable energy • The link between chemical engineering and economics • The main causes behind the Greek debt crisis There was uncertainty in the essay topic • After I was sure that the university course I wanted to pursue was economics, I chose the Greek debt crisis to be my EPQ topic.

HOW AND WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC • The idea of a country going bankrupt also convinced me to write about it. It was beyond my curriculum but at the same time was interesting enough for me to write about it. • The debt crisis was a relatively recent affair and I had heard about it on the news many times in the past. (it was still old enough for me to obtain resources on it though. ) • The macroeconomic side of economics is the subsection of economics which interests me the most so a real-life application to Greece would really have been fascinating for me to research. • It was something new and something widely debated which not many people have written about before.

WHAT WAS MY APPROACH? • Initially I started to lightly research some of the main factors that caused the Greek debt crisis (i. e. web searches) • After having singled out some key points / main causes I was then able to purchase my first resource. • I made timed plans to read this book and make notes on it. • Initially it was very hard to comprehend, but after a lot of research and time I became more able to connect the dots. • Later on in the process I was able to acquire more resources by visiting libraries, buying more books and reading online articles • After a lot of a research and reading, I was then able to cultivate an essay plan with my main points and a conclusion.

LESSONS LEARNED Strengths Weaknesses • Ability to construct detailed and thorough plans. • Ability to quickly obtain resources that are relevant to my essay title • Ability to meet deadlines on time and complete them in full detail • My ability to act on feedback given from my supervisor • Time management skill • Ability to plan ahead • Grammatical composure (proofreading) • Decisiveness and certainty

IF I WERE TO APPROACH A SIMILAR PROJECT IN THE FUTURE… Things I would do differently (which I have learnt from the EPQ) include: • making preparations and planning ahead for unexpected situations (i. e. allowing free time just in case) • I would also try and be a bit more straightforward with my decision making. • I should allow a lot of time for proofreading pieces of work before submission

THE ESSAY TITLE • Initially I had mixed ideas about the essay topic • As I began to research more into the subject, I managed to create the first title: ‘ Was the Greek pension management system the most significant cause for the Greek debt crisis? ’ • The answer to this question would’ve been yes/no rather than allowing for the composure of a balanced argument. • So the title was then changed to ‘To What Extent was Greece's Economic Debt Crisis of 2008 Cultivated Solely by Poor Debt Management? ’ • My supervisor then recommended that I change the title such that I am comparing two factors in the title – this would allow for more focused research. • The then and current title is now: “What was the most significant cause for the Greek economic debt crisis? Government intervention and domestic failure or the Eurozone policy and exogenous influences? ”

HOW MY IDEAS DEVELOPED • In the very early stage of the EPQ process, my knowledge of the subject was very limited so I initially thought that the pension crisis that occurred in Greece was the most significant cause. • However with more research and reading, other factors such as the Eurozone’s single currency, the financial crisis, tax evasion and uncompetitiveness started to crop up numerous times. • I then managed to filter all the main causes into two main categories: domestic and exogenous.

STRUCTURING THE ESSAY Originally there were four points either side of the argument but I decided that it is best to write quality arguments with less points than write a lot of points but of a low quality. POINT DOMESTIC EXOGENOUS Introduction 1 Political corruption and government spending Eurozone’s monetary policy 2 Tax evasion and pension management The global financial crisis 3 Competitiveness and demographics The banking crisis Conclusion

CONCLUSION • At the end of my essay I came to the conclusion that the most significant cause for the Greek debt crisis was the Eurozone’s policies and exogenous influences. • This is because Greece’s debt to GDP ratio increased the most during the time of the 2008/9 financial crisis. • Also, the banking crisis that occurred in Greece straight after the crisis happened because of the European Central Bank’s misjudged QE policy. • The domestic factors were still important but they did not have a significant impact on Greece because they have been affecting Greece over a long period of time whereas the financial crisis was spontaneous and impactful.

LESSONS LEARNED Strengths Weaknesses • I am able to construct detailed arguments with evidence of research. • I must spend too much time on constructing each paragraph • I was able to incorporate theories • The Greek crisis is technically still and ideas from other sources going on so the essay may not entirely be accurate/representative.