The Advantage of Being an Academic is Freedom

June 13, 2019

After graduating from university, I was dispatched to a rural junior and senior high school in Zambia for two years as a teacher with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV). At that time, Zambia's economy was stagnant, and severe poverty was widespread. In that environment, teaching over 30 hours a week and living a life where I had to ride a motorcycle 25 kilometers to the nearest town just to get daily necessities was difficult. However, because I was young, I had a strong desire to absorb and experience everything; it was truly a time that became my roots. Yet, in the field of education, no matter how unreasonable top-down policies were, they had to be implemented. There were many situations where I felt strongly that "nothing in the world will change unless policies from the top improve" and "the sense of helplessness as a single teacher on the ground is simply too great." It was around that time that I began to strongly desire to be involved in more fundamental policy-making.

Time passed, I obtained my PhD in the United States, and I began working as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Three weeks later, the collapse of Lehman Brothers occurred, followed by the global financial crisis. The countries I was responsible for at the time also faced severe capital outflows. I flew to those countries and engaged in policy discussions and negotiations with finance ministers, central bank governors, and in some cases, prime ministers—an incredibly valuable experience that is rare for a newcomer who had just received their PhD. These experiences could also be called my roots. However, because I spent all my time in the capital negotiating with politicians and high-ranking government officials, I couldn't see how ordinary people were living. In other words, I couldn't imagine the details of people's lives. A feeling that was, in a sense, the opposite of what I felt during my time in the JOCV began to grow: "Is it really okay for me to be talking about major policies like this?"

And as more time passed, I arrived at my current position as an academic. I believe the greatest advantage of being an academic lies in the degree of freedom. The ability to tackle issues of personal interest by choice, ranging from micro to macro perspectives and sometimes combining both, is an irreplaceable attraction. Therefore, within the field of development economics, I am able to devote myself fully to research and education. I can go on fieldwork to understand the lives of local people, and I can also be involved in providing indirect support to those striving to make a difference in African education policy. Moving forward, I hope to continue immersing myself in this field of research while taking the utmost care regarding illness and injury. However, as a final note, I should mention that I have already contracted malaria twice.