Evaluate Vernon Smith's New MS of Economics System Design

[Humanomics]

So Vernon Smith and co. have had their masters in experimental economics going for a few years now. I talked to the program coordinator. She said they placed a candidate at Santa Cruz, and another one at GMU, but none in the top 20. N is tiny, though: the program is only three years old. You learn simulations and experiments. This is the list of coursework: 5-Year MSESD Course Description | Chapman University

My backup plan is to go down there if I don't get good bites this round. I'll be at my home school this year taking analysis et. al., so assuming I do well my package shouldn't suffer from a lack of theory signals (or am I wrong?), and I'm confident I can get good letters and support down there (including already fantastic letters from my home school). I have a relationship with Bart Wilson already, and my adviser is good buddies with Smith and Wilson.

I get that this is a risky move, but how risky? Here's my logic: my adviser is a leading heterodox (takes Price Theory extremely seriously though: studies growth, innovation, history, ethics). I can't fake my way into a program telling soft lies about how I "hmm kinda maybe might be interested in empirical work in labor or uh, you know." I'm very clearly attached to a set of coattails already, and am rather committed to my research program already (though it is broad, and will take years to hone). Anyway, I just don't think I can do anything to "mark" myself even further than I already am, will most likely be funded at Chapman, working with people whom I want to work with longer term, and learning things that are actually useful to my research program. I just think in a way that it would be silly to go do a Canadian MA to boost my credentials if this round doesn't work out.

I'm thinking based on my letter writers, interests, being older, coming from a LRM program, and (gasp) few B's in maths, that the only way I'm getting into a cohort is if they want to throw a tablespoon of sriracha in the soup before serving. Should I work that angle, or try to blend to center?

[tm_member]

Places like Pitt and Ohio state should look favorably on an MS like that.

[Humanomics]

Places like Pitt and Ohio state should look favorably on an MS like that.

That's great, thanks. Never considered the programs. As much as it hurts my pride to do this, can I ask what 20-50 programs might foster my interests?

Growth Theory
information
public goods and network externalities
technology/innovation
organizations, econ of teams etc.
social norms, ethics
preferences, preference formation, econ of language (yes, yes: ordinality, revealed behavior. Got it. Useful model. Let's do more.)
economic sociology, embeddedness (it's a useful thought, but needs to agree with models of purposive agents -- want to promote dialogue here)
political economy, formal and traditional

Of the 20's I'm thinking Northwestern, NYU (some support for Austrian and institutional here), Wash U, Chicago, Caltech, Berkeley, Davis, Wisconsin (I'm from wisco long time ago, and would thus get in-state tuition here, could literally pay out of pocket). Does that look like a supportive cross-section or a lot of reach programs that won't necessarily support me longer term anyway?

[Humanomics]

Oh gosh I'm just too excited to stop listing:

complex adaptive systems
evolutionary economics -- (sociobiologists developing two tier theory were the second tier is the as-if optimization modeling, and the first tier roots out whatever heuristic the decision maker in the system is actually using with limited agency and information -- exciting stuff if we can develop the new decisional insights without knocking down or attacking optimization)
network theory, want to develop theory of institutional emergence

Oh boy do I get excited.

[whatdoido]

That's great, thanks. Never considered the programs. As much as it hurts my pride to do this, can I ask what 20-50 programs might foster my interests?

Growth Theory
information
public goods and network externalities
technology/innovation
organizations, econ of teams etc.
social norms, ethics
preferences, preference formation, econ of language (yes, yes: ordinality, revealed behavior. Got it. Useful model. Let's do more.)
economic sociology, embeddedness (it's a useful thought, but needs to agree with models of purposive agents -- want to promote dialogue here)
political economy, formal and traditional

Of the 20's I'm thinking Northwestern, NYU (some support for Austrian and institutional here), Wash U, Chicago, Caltech, Berkeley, Davis, Wisconsin (I'm from wisco long time ago, and would thus get in-state tuition here, could literally pay out of pocket). Does that look like a supportive cross-section or a lot of reach programs that won't necessarily support me longer term anyway?

What rankings are you thinking of? I'm fairly certain all of Northwestern, NYU, Chicago, Caltech, Berkeley, and Wisconsin would be ranked above the 20's.

[Humanomics]

What rankings are you thinking of? I'm fairly certain all of Northwestern, NYU, Chicago, Caltech, Berkeley, and Wisconsin would be ranked above the 20's.

Yeah that's why i said, "of the 20's," those are the programs I'm aiming at. I wanted to know A) if those are good picks based on my interests (add Michigan to try and attract Scott Page, and Duke for Kranton and Kuran) and B) what are other, lower ranked programs (>50; I'm definitely qualified for >50) that would fit my interests?

[whatdoido]

Ok, I was confused because 20's seems more like 21,22,23, etc... rather than the teens. So are you shooting for the 10-20 range?

[Humanomics]

Ok, I was confused because 20's seems more like 21,22,23, etc... rather than the teens. So are you shooting for the 10-20 range?

Preferably, yes. But I essentially I have no idea where my interests will fit outside the reputations of these salient departments. And I'd probably be willing to attend a top30 or *maybe* top 40 if the program were especially keen on my interests.

[Humanomics]

Cancel.

[tm_member]

It's possible like Duke's and CMU's Decision Sciences / Behaioral Econ programs might suit you well.