Research Interests

[standard2785]

Of the subdiciplnes of Economics may favorite are Financial, IO, and Macro...when speaking with a prof or adcom would they be like WTF those do not inter-relate and are there any other sub-(insert demonstrative pronoun here) which fit in these interests

[jahizbarlas]

io and international mix is the big thing these days because of eaton-kortum.
so that can be called as a inter-relation of macro and io.

[apropos]

First of all, at worst, stating that you're interested in all of these fields probably will not hurt you much. A professor who used to serve on adcom said to me once that at most big departments the statement of purpose isn't read carefully and that it's primarily used to determine applicant's ability to write in English. However, the smaller, more specialized departments, with smaller applicant pools might pay a closer attention to what you write in your statement of purpose.

Next, I personally suggest that you don't list all of these fields in each of your SoPs. Customize the statement of purpose by schools. Once you look outside of the top 10 economics departments, it's often hard to find a department that's very good in all of these three subjects anyways. So, first you should identify which fields are stronger in each school, and then write about those in your statement of purpose.

Now, does it make sense to concentrate in so many, at best, marginally related subjects? I don't know. There are some examples of famous economists who had dones this. David Card studied financial economics and labor economics. He's working primarily in labor economics and related subjects right now. Prescott said in his autobiography that he did a considerable amount of research and teaching in IO and Econometrics before becoming interested in Macro.

I am considering studying International Trade, Financial Economics, and Macroeconomics. I find all of these subjects very interesting. However, I am not worried right now about which fields I will ultimately choose as a graduate student. This choice will depend on what's possible at a department where I enroll. Also, I won't be able to answer the question whether I really do like macroeconomics until I take a graduate macroeconomics course. There is a huge difference between undergraduate and graduate macro courses (and also freshwater and saltwater macro), and so I am certain that I and many other applicants who want to do macroeconomics will have to wait until the end of first year to see what we like.

[apropos]

duplicate

[standard2785]

how about financial econ and IO...when will I know which of these three I like most

[standard2785]

i wonder cos on these dept. websites NO faculty seem to be interested in the stock market, capital markets, etc

[apropos]

I don't think there anything wrong with doing two fields that aren't closely linked. This would help you to "find yourself" while in the program and also avoid over-specialization. However, if you list three relatively unrelated fields, that's a signal that your interests are all over the places, and that you don't seem to know what to do (which is probably fine with many programs except for those that are very focused on some very specific subjects.).

[standard2785]

I wonder because none of the dept. websites have faculty interested in the stock market or capital markets, etc...why is that

[apropos]

Where did you get this? There are plenty Economics departments with professors doing research in financial economics. Also note that the financial economics field is often offered through the courses and people at the business school at the same university. It makes sense to inquire in advance whether they allow to pursue a field through the school of business (most economics Ph.D. programs do allow that).