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Golden Rule · 2009 February 21st, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YoungEconomist

I have been hearing lately that they suck at IO. Why do people say they are bad?

Who are said people?

Quote:

I saw numerous IO job market candidates a year or two ago. So, do they really suck at IO? What about metrics? What about game theory in the context of IO? What about applied micro in general? What about micro theory?

Ok, so if you're interested doing research on intellectual property and the economic of ideas, that's part of what David Levine and Michelle Boldrin do. It's not the center of their academic careers by any means, but that's what I know them better for since they have a blog on the subject (Against Monopoly). David's a extremely well-published game theorist and Boldrin's a growth guy. So I could be a good place to be if you're interested in those kind of questions.

I know they have a structural econometrics course taught by a guy Juan from UCLA who the UCLA faculty thought pretty highly of. He's not mainly an IO person, but he's still structural. He took WUSTL over Penn State.

So does that mean they suck? I dunno. It's all relative. I wouldn't say they're any worse than any school in that kind of rank range.

YoungEconomist · 2009 February 21st, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Rule

Who are said people?

Some TMers (I'd have to go search through some old posts to find out). If there is anybody out there who thinks WUSTL sucks at IO, please make your case on this thread. On the flip side, if there is anyone out there that thinks WUSTL is ok or good at IO, please make your case.

Legatus · 2009 February 21st, 04:36 PM

Try not to get hung up on a specific field. It could easily be the case that you go to a school that is great in IO, then 3 years later the top people leave. Instead, try to go to the best program you can, survive first year, then try to figure out what you want to do. Not saying that you shouldn't keep you interest for IO, but you'd be surprised how quickly preferences change after a year of grad school. Many people even up into second year in my program still have no idea really what they want to do. There isn't any rush.

YoungEconomist · 2009 February 21st, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legatus

Try not to get hung up on a specific field. It could easily be the case that you go to a school that is great in IO, then 3 years later the top people leave. Instead, try to go to the best program you can, survive first year, then try to figure out what you want to do. Not saying that you shouldn't keep you interest for IO, but you'd be surprised how quickly preferences change after a year of grad school. Many people even up into second year in my program still have no idea really what they want to do. There isn't any rush.

Thank you, this is great advice. I would also like to add that I don't want to choose a school that is bad at IO though, because I'm more likely to study that than anything else. Put differently, I would like to attend a school that is decent at IO but is also decent at many other fields, that way I'll be happy if I do stick to studying IO and I'll still be happy if I choose another field. That's one reason I tried to pick schools that I thought were decent at IO, but didn't pick a school if they were small and didn't offer/excel at other areas.

Reminds me of something I heard Robin Hanson say on the blog Overcoming Bias:

Quote:

"Son, don't marry for money; hang around rich girls and marry for love."

I want to choose a school that's good at IO as well as other areas, and then choose my field because of passion.

Timmy · 2009 February 21st, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YoungEconomist

Some TMers (I'd have to go search through some old posts to find out). If there is anybody out there who thinks WUSTL sucks at IO, please make your case on this thread. On the flip side, if there is anyone out there that thinks WUSTL is ok or good at IO, please make your case.

So you made your statement based on what you heard from other peer applicants?

pookchen · 2009 February 23rd, 04:19 PM

THERE IS NO HIRING FREEZE AT WUSTL. I'm a 3rd year student at Wustl. I asked. I know.

YoungEconomist · 2009 February 24th, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pookchen

THERE IS NO HIRING FREEZE AT WUSTL. I'm a 3rd year student at Wustl. I asked. I know.

Can you give me some input on my previous questions then (since you actually go there)? I would greatly appreciate it.

pookchen · 2009 February 24th, 04:09 PM

Strong in Macro, micro theory, Gen Eq. There is a misconception regarding applied fields because people only look at the econ dept, which is overwhelmingly theory. However, keep in mind that all b-school fac are jointly appointed, so although there is one structural metrics guy in the econ dept., there are several in the b-school, all of whom we can work with. For example, I do health and my main advisor is in the b-school... Hope this helps.

buckykatt · 2009 March 3rd, 05:58 PM

[post deleted]

Doh! (Thanks, C152dude. Too much coffee today, I guess!)

C152dude · 2009 March 3rd, 06:01 PM

Different school

2009 March 3rd, 05:58 PM	#19 (permalink)
buckykatt TestMagic Outlier Join Date: May 2007 Location: US Posts: 1,169	[post deleted] Doh! (Thanks, C152dude. Too much coffee today, I guess!) _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Accepted: UConn ($$) WTF?: UWash, GMU No News=Bad News: Cornell, UIUC Rejected: Caltech, Rochester, JHU, WUSTL, Iowa State, SUNY Stony Brook, UMich, Brown

2009 March 3rd, 06:01 PM	#20 (permalink)
C152dude @ Minnesota Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 403	Different school _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _

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2009 February 21st, 04:36 PM	#13 (permalink)
Legatus Eager! Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 94	Try not to get hung up on a specific field. It could easily be the case that you go to a school that is great in IO, then 3 years later the top people leave. Instead, try to go to the best program you can, survive first year, then try to figure out what you want to do. Not saying that you shouldn't keep you interest for IO, but you'd be surprised how quickly preferences change after a year of grad school. Many people even up into second year in my program still have no idea really what they want to do. There isn't any rush.

2009 February 23rd, 04:19 PM	#16 (permalink)
pookchen researchin' Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 78	THERE IS NO HIRING FREEZE AT WUSTL. I'm a 3rd year student at Wustl. I asked. I know.

2009 February 24th, 04:09 PM	#18 (permalink)
pookchen researchin' Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 78	Strong in Macro, micro theory, Gen Eq. There is a misconception regarding applied fields because people only look at the econ dept, which is overwhelmingly theory. However, keep in mind that all b-school fac are jointly appointed, so although there is one structural metrics guy in the econ dept., there are several in the b-school, all of whom we can work with. For example, I do health and my main advisor is in the b-school... Hope this helps.

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