PhD economics vs PhD Business Econ {placements, salary}

[ariel1987]

Hey guys,

I have read previous threads and all the like, but I would like your opinion about this issue.

I recently looked at Business Schools and their intake (for most programs) is of about 2 people for each branch and their placements look much, much better. I mean, UBC Sauder school of Business had placements in the 4 years for {Michigan, Chicago Booth, Michigan, USC, UC Irvine, Waterloo, UWO, UofOttawa}. These placements are amazing, and include ALL of their 8 students from 2006-2009. I had an offer to this program, but rather chose Cornell Econ, which has ok placements. In general, most Business schools have great, great placements.

I also enjoy the applied stuff much more than I do enjoy theory. Did I make the right choice? Why do people go for Economics departments as opposed to Business departments? Is there a catch at B-schools, which makes them less compelling?

I know this has been discussed previously, but I haven't found many opinions regarding this issue. It just goes beyond my understanding why people go for straight Econ (i.e. harder coursework, smaller pay, worst placements in general)

[Gecko]

Business schools have this small problem of wanting their faculty to teach MBAs ^_^ and the courseload is much heavier. haha. That could leave less time for research too. Although the pay differential is non-trivial - think 20-30% markup.

P.S. If you thought Sauder was good, wait 'till you see Kellogg :P

[wobuffet]

Selection bias. At any given school, it's generally harder to get into the business econ program than the regular econ program.

Arguably, a business econ PhD program is also more likely to attract individuals who put a greater weight on money (we could write a Tiebout sorting model here...)

[Gecko]

not always true about the harder part, buffet :P

[_nanashi]

About.com has a rather outdated section about getting a PhD in economics. The person who writes it switched from a Big 4 Canadian Econ PhD to a UWO Business PhD. He wrote if you like applied work its a no brainier, half the work and twice the salary, and he does as much econ as an economist does.

At the same time I don't know his story, he may just wanted to stay in Vancouver, chapple has a Sauder PhD. and is just a lecturer at UBC Econ Dept. (Though he teaches MBA, and I think his position is tenure track). You might want to talk to him though.

[ariel1987]

Thanks guys!

Yah, I read the about.com section. It looks like B-schools offer much better opportunities if money is a concern. Also, eocnomics is highly theoretical and applied people might find better opportunities witha Business PhD

[_nanashi]

To be honest I don't think your wasting time if your at Cornell and can do well there. Its easier to move around within a school. You can always apply somewhere else, next year.

[figuringout]

Its not just about money. It's about *expected* money. If you factor in success rates which are a factor of the amount of faculty attention you get, your relative strength on the job market (competing against only one other guy from your school vs. 20 others!) etc then the markup is much more than the 20-30% pointed out earlier. Its probably true that ex-post, a job at a top Econ dept. and at a top Business School are pretty similar (except that at Econ you get paid a little less, but also dont have to teach MBAs) -- but ex-ante the difference is large in my opinion.

As someone said earlier, if you are keen on doing applied work, then definitely apply to business schools.

[Gecko]

Actually, if one is a theorist one can also teach at business schools

[good_tea]

Why is it so bad to teach MBAs? I have read this many times, and have always wondered.

Also, I notice that it is fairly common for economics department students to place into business schools. In these cases, do they teach MBA courses? How do they even know how to teach such courses, given that they are not required to take MBA courses as part of their training?