arkady

I'm reading Tirole for my IO class but not using his finance text in the financial economics course. The financial economics course I am thinking of taking is basically on asset pricing and I'm not sure how conducive this would be to IO/consulting?? P.S. I am already taking econometrics, and am just trying to decide on my last elective..Thanks

Hi everyone, I am concentrating in IO and just wondering which other subdiscipline would complement IO more, Financial Economics or Labor Economics? I am interested in going into econ consulting eventually. Thanks.

Um.. thanks a lot.

Maybe I'll study those 'results from multivariable calculus' prior to the start of the course. Thanks for the advice everyone.

There is a course being offered using this text and I am wondering about the level of difficulty and how rigorous this text is. I have taken undergraduate game theory from the mathematics department and undergraduate IO from the economics department. I know basic calculus but have yet to take mutivariable. I've had a course in micro using Varian. Is multivariable a must for understanding graduate level IO..? What other kinds of mathematics background is needed for specializing in IO? Thanks..

I am not sure how your school works, but at my school, set theory is required in order to take real analysis. and real analysis

Hello everyone, I am deciding whether or not I should take the MA micro course or the PhD one in the Fall, in the off-chance that I pursue a PhD in the future. Originally I was going to start looking for jobs after my MA, but I've been reading up on a lot of organizations and they pretty much all say after 2 or 3 years you hit the glass ceiling and one is encouraged to pursue a PhD. So now I am thinking about maybe taking PhD micro, but the problem is, micro is my weakest area. Also, I have little math background (calc 1/2, linear algebra, math econ, intro to proofs). Most people say MWG is not an easy read, and I suppose it would be overwhelming for someone like me. Having said that, is there anything I can do during these slow boring summer days in order to maybe pull myself up to a level where I could survive a PhD micro course in the fall. thanks in advance..

i know most people feel the same way about this course. but i guess what concerns me is that most people in my class have no intention of going to grad school, as they are more interested in pursuing professional designations (CFA/CPA types). so they don't seem to care as much as i do in terms of doing well in this course. yet i am doing as bad as most people in it. i think the very few people who are also planning to go to grad school seem to get it (reflected by test scores). Anyway, thanks for your encouragement i guess i should have to work extra hard and see where that takes me.

i am struggling with advanced micro. i think this is the first time i find myself having trouble with an "economics" course. i realize i need good economic intuition as well as good maths background to succeed in this course. i have taken something like 21 economics courses in my undergrad life. which pretty much confirms the belief that most ugrad level econ courses are more or less bs (as in relatively easy to get good grades in even if you are not clever or smart i.e. me). anyway, i was thinking about going for masters, because i really think i have much more to learn (i question my ugrad education too). but now i am even discouraged about getting a master's, because i just don't think i get this material like a good, diligent, hardworking, grad school bound economics major should. for example, we learned how to derive the profit* function in class, and if the test deviates a little from it, say i was told to derive a cost function (which i think uses same intuition), i woudln't be able to solve it. should i even bother pursuing MA in econ? i feel very discouraged. you know how people say some people are born to be mathematicians, some are fit to be accountants (i can't imagine why anyone would but that's another story), etc. do you think economists and economics related jobs are like that too? i feel intellectually challenged. already at an undergrad level, so i am thinking maybe i should give up grad level econ, since i can't even crack ugrad econ. is grad level econ only for clever and intuitive folks? unlike say, MA in library science which i'm pretty sure i could manage even if i didn't know whole lot about it (no offense to library science)

actually - probability at this school is a pre-req for statistics but i was told if i reason it out with the course instructor he'll let me take statistics, sans probability. i will be taking these courses as a post-grad in the summer, after i graduate, so i don't think they will be so strict about pre-reqs and such. i do think probability will look better on my transcript and i really wish i could take both but i can't - unless i decide to apply for sept 08 entry (which i'm stil considering). for someone interested in applied econometrics and not really micro/macro theory, which courses do you think are helpful to take, aside from stats/prob? thanks in advance

I realize both are necessary but I only have one slot left. I can take either/or but not both. Having said that which course do you think will be more conducive for future studies in economics? I have not taken an actual probability course, have taken 1 semester business stats which was not helpful at all. i have three semesters worth of econometrics, so am not too rusty with variance covariance expected value etc, but i definitely need better prob/stats background. thanks in advance. A) Probability The laws of probability, discrete and continuous random variables, expectation, central limit theorem. B) Statistics Empirical problem solving, measurement systems, causal relationships, statistical models, estimation, confidence intervals, tests of significance.

i am just across the border from the u.s. (up north) thank you for your advice asquare. i really appreciate it.

thanks for the comments asquare and UMSL_Losh. i was just worried that once i jump into the job market and start working somewhere it'd be harder for me to return to school eventually - and that while i'm in school it'd be easier for me to continue on.. my school has a work-study program and i did work one summer as financial analyst intern at a globally respected company and i did not enjoy that at all. maybe it was foolish of me to be so prejudiced against working based on a few months of experience, but the corporate atmosphere did not suit me very much. and i looked at organization/type of jobs (not necessarily corporate-ish) and a lot of those required at least a Master's in economics.. anyway, i think i will apply to some of the graduate student job openings as well as a few MA programmes in my country and see where it takes me from there. thanks again.

Hi, I am a senior undergrad student in economics who does not have much math background, and whilst writing my undergrad seminar paper I realized I am struggling a lot - even coming up with a topic and actually getting anywhere with the paper. Upon realizing this I don't think I'm a good candidate for PhD in economics although I have considered it before (when i didn't know much about it). I am wondering if pursuing MA in economics has any value added for someone who does not intend to pursue PhD in economics. I just feel I am not ready for the "real world" / job market (the four years went by so quickly - i'm not exactly sure if i have learned anything of importance and i'm having a lot of self doubt) and i was hoping maybe additional studying added to getting older (currently 21) will help me figure out what it is i want to do. having said that do you think pursuing MA at this point is redundant? does anyone know what are the options available for those graduating from a decent MA program in economics? most of my graduating friends are busy applying to jobs (because they have econ + business (finance.. etc) background they are able to apply for bussiness oriented jobs) but i'm not sure what to do since i was originally taking more theoretical math over practical business courses and i don't qualify for many graduating job positions in the private sector at the time i write this. do you know of any good MA Econ programs in north america that prepares one for work in the public/private sector rather than a prep towards PhD? thanks in advance.

include this in the poll please, poll creator