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jlist

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  1. Hi Everyone, we are putting together another session that you might find helpful. On 1:00-2:30 pm EST on Friday, January 28, a panel will present information intended to help faculty help their students place into PhD programs in economics. The webinar is cosponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP), the Committee on the Status of Minorities in the Economics Profession (CSMGEP), and the Committee on Economic Education (CEE) with an eye toward increasing and diversifying the pool of applicants. See details here: https://www.aeaweb.org/news/webinar-helping-faculty-help-students-dec-2-2021 Good luck in this year's market everyone! Best, JL See me on twitter now too: Econ_4_Everyone
  2. Hi Everyone, Dick Startz provided a great public good by putting together an AEA session that you might find helpful. Here is the summary: The American Economic Association will present a webinar at 3:00 pm EST on Friday, January 8, 2021 where a panel will present information intended to help faculty help their students place into PhD programs in economics. The webinar is cosponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP), the Committee on the Status of Minorities in the Economics Profession (CSMGEP), and the Committee on Economic Education (CEE) with an eye toward increasing and diversifying the pool of applicants. The webinar will begin with a panel presentation followed by questions from the audience. Panel members will be John List (University of Chicago), James Peoples (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Nancy Rose (MIT), Danila Serra (Texas A&M), and Dick Startz (University of California-Santa Barbara). I found the discussion wonderful, and I hope educational for all of you. I mention the session because I believe that it was taped but cannot seem to find that link just yet. Good luck this season! Best, JL
  3. Hi Gang: Indeed, I find this area one of the most fascinating and fasting growing in economics. Looking at both the demand and supply sides of the economics of charity is quite important, and little has been done systematically until recently. Please see this work for a few accessible pieces and a structural model of giving (the cites therein will lead you to other work in the area too) :Della Vigna, Stefano, John A. List, and Ulrike Malmendier, "Testing for Altruism and Social Pressure in Charitable Giving," Quarterly Journal of Economics, (2012), 127(1), pp. 1-56. List, John A. "The Market for Charitable Giving," Journal of Economic Perspectives , (2011), 25(2): pp. 157-180. Karlan, Dean and John A. List, "Does Price Matter in Charitable Giving? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment," American Economic Review , (2007), 97(5), pp. 1774-1793. List, John A. and David Lucking-Reiley "The Effects of Seed Money and Refunds on Charitable Giving: Experimental Evidence from a University Capital Campaign." Journal of Political Economy, February 2002, 110(8), pp. 215-233.
  4. Thanks much for your question. Yes, strange and desperate, but open minded and wanting to learn--two great traits to have! First, you might wish to see this on what I learned when I studied the job market for new phds: List, John A., "Interview Scheduling Strategies for New Ph.D. Economists," Journal of Economic Education, (2000), 31(2), pp. 191-201. I do see the trend you point out continuing. The main benefit of going to a good post-doc is that you typically have little teaching and service responsibilities and you can focus entirely on research. What I see becoming more common is this model: forward contract with school A for an assistant professor position then sign a 1 year post doc with school B. This not only allows you to focus on research, but you broaden your social network before starting your AP job.
  5. I am unsure if there are data to support your claim, but it does make some sense. Here is why it could work: many adcoms might not have good information on the quality of many foreign undergraduate programs. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to keep straight the comparability of grades--letters, numbers, points, what have you across schools in the same country much less across countries. As this is the case, adcoms look for a signal that they better understand--an MS degree from a school that they better understand- and MS from LSE is often what I see. So, I think to forego that phenomenon, it is important to do the best you can to attend a well know undergrad institution, or have your letter writers (and you in your sop) detail what the grades and course work actually mean.
  6. Thanks much for your keen queries Seta. First, I think the most useful letters are those from people I know (and trust) that honestly compare the student with past students the recommender pushed for grad school. For instance, a passage such as: Seta is amongst my very best students in the past 5 years, and compares favorably to Jim and Rich, who went to XX, and Grace and John who went to YY. Second, what this means is that a letter from a mathematician might be less useful (all else equal) because most adcoms do not know them and it is difficult for them to place the student in perspective with others. Second, on the publishing, I often hear that bad papers lead to bad signals--whether on the grad school market or beginning phd market. I was intrigued so I did a study back in 1997 for the new phd market--published as List, John A., "Interview Scheduling Strategies for New Ph.D. Economists," Journal of Economic Education, (2000), 31(2), pp. 191-201. There you can find what happens on the new phd market. On the grad market, I have not seen that it considerably hurts or helps. Hope this helps!
  7. Coffeehouse, thanks for this question. It is a really good one. I think that you will find our program to be no more mathematical than any of our peer institutions. In fact, right out of the gate we might be even less mathematical than our peers because our first micro course is taught by Becker and Murphy (which I view as a classic course--I sat through it when I arrived nine years ago), and relies more on intuition and economic insights than hard core math. In the end, I am not sure of our mix of grad students doing theory/empirical work, but when I look at students we place each year there are more applied people than theorists.
  8. Tomrod, thanks so much for your kind words. When I find that I can help someone in just a small way the time is well spent.
  9. Thanks much for your question Fakeo. This is a good one. There is certainly a depreciation rate, and you can take MS classes to help admin committees look past your deficiencies from undergrad. For example, say that you have a spotty record in econometrics. You should try hard to take advanced econometrics courses during your MS to allow your supporters to say: look, Fakeo just was immature in his approach as an undergrad, and he has the ability to do econometrics, just look at his three As in advanced econometrics in his MS program. As far as bringing it up in your SOP--actually, everyone has some sort of story, so do not play that fiddle. You can be honest and say that you just were not into that work then, but you matured as a scholar and showed your true prowess in your MS. With my background, I have seen plenty of talented people like that!
  10. Thanks much for your query Quant. At Chicago we typically go 'best athlete' rather than choosing specific fields. In that spirit, given the number of people we plan to hire in the next few years, you can expect to find just about every field covered!
  11. Hi Gang: I hope that you are all very well. I am beginning my 2nd year as Chairman of the Economics Department here at Chicago. Previously I served 6 years as the Co-Chair of our admissions and aid committee at Chicago so I ended up learning quite a bit about this market. I am here to, first, plug the University of Chicago and, second, to ask if you have any questions about the process. Let's begin with my department. Several years ago I asked this group for advice and I learned about many myths about Chicago. They are all fun stories but none of them hold truth. In addition, we are now in the midst of a renewal program in which we will transform the department by aggressively hiring multiple faculty, which will serve all of you well when the time comes to write dissertations. I am proud of our value-added here at UC, and I am sure that all of you will be proud to be Chicago economists. OK, enough selling--I will convince you even more with actual data when you visit here this Spring! Second, if you have any questions about UChicago, or this process more generally, please let me know. When I went on this market I never had the opportunity to really learn about what is happening and why, so I always longed for information. I can help to provide that now to help you (caveat: I will only be able to check back sporadically because I am doing a few things that consume my time--the department stuff, the book interviews, etc.). Thanks again for your consideration; and, good luck to all on a successful year! Best, John
  12. Hi Gang: For SOPs, I always favor starting at the middle of the story and working through. Let me provide an example for my case. Back in 1992 when I applied to grad schools, I would have started with something like this: Here I stood behind my 6 foot table, a real dealer at a large sportscard convention in Chicago. I understood a little bit about how to price and negotiate deals, but how can I apply what I learned in economics 101 and intermediate economics to inform me about this market? How should prices be determined, who should get the surplus, should I engage in 3rd degree price discrimination? Questions like these lead to restless nights in which I would wrestle with how the textbook world applied to my world. I wanted answers but I did not understand how to begin finding them. I then began to conduct experiments. I began small, and it worked out. I then began executing larger and larger experiments and I began to see more clearly the world around me. The experiments, alongside a little economic theory, permitted the lens necessary to understand behavior at a level that I had never witnessed.....this is why I want to study economics. I am hungry for knowledge, etc., etc., etc. I think each of us has a hidden treasure and it is important to let that out in your SOP. They will be read, and passion can be felt in the good ones. I hope that this advice can help in some small way. Best, John
  13. Hi Tundrawolf: I do not understand what zzz is supposed to mean, but given mathemagician's response I am assuming that you are calling me out or expressing disgust at my query. Sorry for wasting your time with my post. Best, JL
  14. Hi Group: I hope that you are all very well. I am beginning my 6th year as the Co-Chair of our admissions and aid committee at Chicago (and 2nd as DGS). When I first started on admissions and aid , I sent a message asking for help. The question was a simple one: what are the factors that make people nervous about attending UC for graduate training in economics? Your words of advice were very useful. I worked hard to dispel many of those myths here and in person when you visited Chicago. But, I am back writing for advice again--I would love to hear your thoughts on the factors that might dissuade you from applying to, or attending, UC. If you want to send me private messages with your thoughts that is fine too. Everything can stay private if you would like. Thanks again for your advice. And, good luck to all on a successful year. Best, John
  15. Thanks much bonbon. It is always nice to know that someone finds my perspective of some value. I wish you luck in the application process. Best, John
  16. First of all, Jeeves thanks so much for your kind words. I hope that all is going well in Cambridge. Great place, great people. Engine, you ask a good question. I think most adcoms at the top schools have a rule of thumb in the back of their minds: people at places like UW-Stevens Point have to 'roll the table' in math and economics to even be in the game--that is straight As. Students from top places can have a few blemishes and still be 'in the game', but they better not be in math. At schools like U. Maryland, we had the same sort of view, but students from top places could have a few more blemishes. I cannot quite put my finger on any give translation factor, just to say that it is different across school tiers; and that to be in the top bucket at U. Chicago, it really takes perfect grades regardless of where you are from. One exception could be, for example, a B+ in intermediate micro that is counteracted with an A in Graduate Micro. Hope that this helps! Best, John
  17. Hi Gang: I hope that you are all well. Many apologies for not being as active recently. Time flies by when you have five kids and start a pre-K program (more on this later). I hope that you are all working hard and not getting too stressed out over applications. At this late point, my advice remains where I was earlier: apply early and often, do all you can to secure outside funding, potentially use AREC programs as a vehicle to secure a position in a top tier department. Here at UC, there have been some changes. I have taken over the DGS role, but I will still have a hand in admissions and aid. As such, that aspect will not really change much: a bunch of eyes will look over your files and we will make difficult decisions in the early part of the year. As you might have read in my previous postings, the process has gotten more and more competitive over the four years that I have done admissions and aid. This is good news for buyers, but not so good for sellers (you). As a sign of this trend, our classes have tended to be somewhat larger in the past few years. Even so, there are many top notch people who do not get accepted. That is the real downside from my point of view with this job. Thus, I urge you to have rational expectations now and don't beat yourselves up if it does not work at your preferred school. Keep trying hard, and in the end it will work. Maybe that means doing a PhD at a slightly lower ranked school. You will end up in the *right* place for you. I have faith in the market in the long run; my own experiences tell me that there is hope. Now on to something that is much more upbeat. At one time I was asking about RAs, and I should note that I am still on the market for a few good ones. Some of you might have learned of the large scale education field experiments that Roland Fryer, Steve Levitt, and I have been running. This is the Pre-K program that has recently started in my community on the south side of Chicago (see the GECC website for what we are doing). If any of you have an interest in coming to help on that, or any other, project, please send Anya C. Savikhin [savikhin@uchicago.edu] an email. Whether it is simply for the summer or perhaps longer, I always need help! Take care, and I will send along some updates as we begin to accumulate files here at UC--I can note that thus far the number of files seems to be slightly down from last year, but not materially. Best, John
  18. Hi Team: In case someone might have missed it I am bumping this thread--we have had lots of good candidates, so thanks! Best, John
  19. Hi Gang: I hope that you are all doing well and have now gotten over these last few months of topsy turvy roller coaster type action. I am writing this time to ask if any of you need to be employed this coming summer/next year? See Jeeves' excellent post about the value of doing such a chore. I have a few spots open in my group and am looking for a few good people. If you have interest, please send your materials to David at: David.Herberich@chicagobooth.edu I am off now on a seminar tour, so I will be unable to answer queries quickly but David can address your concerns/questions. The pay will be reasonable, and you will work closely with the team, my coauthors at UC, and me (to be honest, more of the first group than the latter two). Thanks for your consideration, and as always your support on this site and elsewhere. Best, John
  20. Sorry Gang, this is the price theory camp I referred to in my last post: Price Theory Summer Camp - Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory
  21. Hi Phaz: While I love UW-Milwaukee, and respect those folks alot, I have to say Tilburg. They have top notch folks all around, and you can transfer into their PhD program if things go well. I spend a few weeks every year or so in Tilburg, and love the students and faculty. I suspect that you will too (though be ready to be bored because Tilburg is not the wildest place, butg Amsterdam is one of the best cities in the world and is 1 hr. and 40 minutes away). Best, John
  22. Hi Ibanez: Congrats on a great placement. Sure, you are welcome down anytime. One focal point might be the summer school (~early July) that we do on price theory. I usually participate in that and so do others around campus. Best, John
  23. Hi Gang: Well, my third year is winding down. I write this passage as many of you have already signed on the dotted line, while some of you are waiting on your dream school to accept you from their wait list. This year was the most trying as well as the most rewarding. The difficult aspect was due in part to my institution, U. Chicago. As aforementioned, we are in the midst of a tough budget cycle, and we had to cut back on our offers significantly. This, combined with the fact that the applicant pool was probably the strongest in decades, made it very hard because the opportunity cost of denying admission to the marginal person was higher than ever. The rewarding aspect arose in two forms. First, as I noted earlier, with a stronger pool come very interesting candidates. Yes, we had the typical math genuises, physics gods, and wordly philosophers, but we had a wealth of talent on the dimension of those who understood how to do good economics. This includes posing well formulated questions, and understanding how to attack that question in a reasonable manner. Yet, that was not even the most rewarding for me this time around. What has stood out for me is the incredible understanding and sympathy that prospective students had with our situation at UC. We were forced to run our recruitiment in a very unconventional manner, but candidates were gracious and made the process much easier than I had anticipated. For this I would like to thank you as a group. What could have ended as a nightmare, I will look back on fondly in some years--though not yet because I am still bushed from this process. In the end, some marginal tidbits that might help future TMers, or those on the forum who will try again next year: A. Try to take graduate classes in economics. They will help you alot, especially if you are at a non-top 10 school and you can place at the top of the grade distribution. B. That extra math class will help tremendously, especially if it is at the graduate level. In the end, if possible do a double math/economics major. C. Having outside money will never hurt. During difficult times, some committees place more weight on this aspect than one would first suspect. D. Great GRE scores are a necessary but not a sufficient condition. For example, as I recall nearly a third of our pool typically has an 800 on the math component. E. Letters from people who others know and respect are much more important than you might realize. This is especially true if they can say: as good as XX who I sent to this top 5 place, and better than ZZ who I sent to this top 5 place. F. Spend time polishing the personal statement. I have seen good people receive bad overall marks because of this bad start. Enough for now. Make the right decision if you have yet to decide--that is, find the best match for you and the rest will work out. If you have decided, have a great year. For all, if I am ever in your neighborhood or you in mine, let's have a coffee, or beer, your preference. Just let me know. Best, John
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