[dyoh]

1. Honors will help, but don't expect admissions folks to know the ins and outs of your school or your type of degree. You never know what they know.

2. It really depends where you want to work initially out of school. This isn't a fact, but it seems to me that people respect degrees from their own countries more than others unless they're top 5 programs (maybe even higher). I've been surprised that many foreign students here in the US haven't heard of many top US business programs. I haven't asked about econ.

3. Some people think this really matters - me, less so. My roommate thinks this helped him get into a phd program (in a different field). If your GMAT or GRE has strong quant scores I don't think you need this for an MA, but probably for a PhD.

4. It really helps if the professor knows you because your recommendation is often much better, but you can give your professor a brief resume and maybe a very short bullet list of what you want to do longterm (in the grad program too). Without that, you risk being just another name on the generic rec., but with it you might get a decent sentence or two that's actually about you. Also, very politely ask if you can see it before he or she submits it. Also, ask that it's a positive recommendation versus negative - don't just assume. Some profs can be real jerks outside of class.

I hope that doesn't sound pessimistic, but I thought sharing my views might help you progress. Good luck! Stick with the process even if it takes longer than you expect!