nycpark Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Hello to all, If someone is kind enough to point some directions for this lost soul, it will be much appreciated. I am in my early thirties, currently working as a tax advisor at KPMG in one of emerging countries. Initially, I was looking into the field of behavioral accounting, just because it appeared to be pretty natural considering that I am neverthess a CPA. Meanwhile, I've always been intrigued by the influence of psychological factors on economic decision-makings. Ultimately, I realized that it is the behavioral economics that has the contents I wish to learn and research. So, I recently began the GRE prep as well as the school searching so that I can soon begin applying for the next fall semester. Last night, my friend suddenly asked me whether I would need the master's degree to be able to apply for the economics ph.d. Only then, I realized that I never really looked into this. For some reasons, I just assumed that the master's degree shouldn't really be a big problem considering that phd is a comprehensive program. I am aware that this may be a very rudimentary question, so my apologies for those who may find this question rude or offensive. Hopefully, someone is who is generous enough can enlighten the fool. Thank you very much ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 You may not beed a master's if you have the required math and econ coursework for admission to a comprehensive US style econ program. On the other hand, most internationals obtain a MA before the PhD. Where is it that you would like to do the PhD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycpark Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Thank you for the help. You will be included in my prayer tonight! =) My preferred region will be the US since it's where I got my secondary school and college eductions. I'm beginning to realize that my lack of math and econ foundation may be a real problem to even consider a phd in economics. Do schools even give serious consideration to the candidates with insufficient math background? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycpark Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 FYI, I graduated from one of top 50 US colleges with concentration in accounting and took basic math and econ courses that were mandatory for all business school undergrads only. (3.4 gpa) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 FYI, I graduated from one of top 50 US colleges with concentration in accounting and took basic math and econ courses that were mandatory for all business school undergrads only. (3.4 gpa) 3.4 GPA with concentration in accounting...sorry, you have no real shot at a US Econ PhD. You need a master's where you can take math, the best ones are not in the US, just use the search function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycpark Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 3.4 GPA with concentration in accounting...sorry, you have no real shot at a US Econ PhD. You need a master's where you can take math, the best ones are not in the US, just use the search function. I hope you are not exasperated because it is bad for your health. =) So, you are suggesting that I shouldn't even bother to apply for ANY of the US prgrams regardless of what kind of schools or programs I am aiming? I understand the necessity of math in Economics, but it appears that, at least in behavioral economics, math is being more of a tool rather than a subject matter. Are the maths being used in behavioral economics (which seems be more related to Statistics rather than Math) really that difficult to the extent that one full single year is not enough for an average guy with decent number concepts to learn it and to be able to use it for his applications? If you feel like-the kind of questions I asked above can be answered by the search function, you don't have to answer it. Still much appreciated for the help you provided. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKecon Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I hope you are not exasperated because it is bad for your health. =) So, you are suggesting that I shouldn't even bother to apply for ANY of the US prgrams regardless of what kind of schools or programs I am aiming? I understand the necessity of math in Economics, but it appears that, at least in behavioral economics, math is being more of a tool rather than a subject matter. Are the maths being used in behavioral economics (which seems be more related to Statistics rather than Math) really that difficult to the extent that one full single year is not enough for an average guy with decent number concepts to learn it and to be able to use it for his applications? If you feel like-the kind of questions I asked above can be answered by the search function, you don't have to answer it. Still much appreciated for the help you provided. Thank you. Due to the complexity of behavioral economics, I wouldn't expect the level of mathematics to be any less than neo-classical models but more. If you want to do Behavioral economics in an Economic department then you will need to do stuff related to Economics. I expect the focus would be on how to improve neo-classical short falls and explain why it happens. This demands at least a good understanding of formal models and mathematical ability to address the issues in a rigorious manner. So you won't be able to get around the maths part. (BTW, math is always a tool in Economics, never a subject matter in itself.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycpark Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) [deleted to resolve double post] Edited November 4, 2011 by nycpark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycpark Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 KKecon, Thanks for your insight. I'm not intending to get around the math. I just don't know how exactly I can make up my deficiency in math; Should I go back to the college and take some math classes? Since it appears that every program has different math requirements, how do I figureknow exactly which courses to take?...etc. Boston Review — Rachel Glennerster and Michael Kremer: Small Changes, Big Results For The World's Poor The above link may epitomize what I wish to do. Is this more of "experimental" rather than "behavioral"? If this represents a type of work I wish to conduct in the future, where should I be heading towards? Does anyone know any professor who conducts research on the above mentioned contents at one of lower tier schools? I personally don't care where I enroll as long as I can study the subject. Also, european schools may be an alternative plan although I don't see why the level of their math requirement would be any less than that of US programs. Can you or anyone else provide any insights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evergreen Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/99553-faqs-about-graduate-school-economics-links-useful-threads.html Check out the section 4) How important is math to the application? Is real analysis necessary? What math classes are useful during first year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 KKecon, Thanks for your insight. I'm not intending to get around the math. I just don't know how exactly I can make up my deficiency in math; Should I go back to the college and take some math classes? Since it appears that every program has different math requirements, how do I figureknow exactly which courses to take?...etc. Boston Review — Rachel Glennerster and Michael Kremer: Small Changes, Big Results For The World's Poor The above link may epitomize what I wish to do. Is this more of "experimental" rather than "behavioral"? If this represents a type of work I wish to conduct in the future, where should I be heading towards? Does anyone know any professor who conducts research on the above mentioned contents at one of lower tier schools? I personally don't care where I enroll as long as I can study the subject. Also, european schools may be an alternative plan although I don't see why the level of their math requirement would be any less than that of US programs. Can you or anyone else provide any insights? The type of work you are interested in would be classified as "field experiments". You should look at the work being done at the Jameel Poverty Action Lab in Boston. They do a lot of that from what I remember. Of course being a good experimenter relies on understanding both the neo-classical model and behavioral economics - behavioral Economics is very mathematical, as it models deviations from the neo-classical rational agent model of behavior. As a CPA, and a graduate from a good school you are probably very smart, but for an econ phd in the US you need exposure to multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and mathematical statistics to have a shot at admission to a top 50 US program. If you already can define concepts such as continuity, differentiability, limits, and have used the chain rule more times than you've had hot dinners, if you know what a fixed point theorem is, are comfortable with concepts such as the envelope theorem ( see Envelope theorem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and have knowledge of linear algebra (basis, span, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors) then you are in good shape and have a chance at US programs. But given what you have told us I doubt that is the case. It may be easier for you to do a one-year MA in the UK/mainland Europe and the 3-year style PhD in Europe. To get into the top 50 in the US, I'm betting you would need a two year master's with lots of math classes in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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