URGENTPLS

For what i know the people who could write those recommendation letters for me knows nothing about north american phd programs. Im not sure if they even has written a recommendation letter ever in their life, since it is not a system that is in practice here.

Hi! Im looking to apply for PhD programs in North America for fall 2010. I have a B.S in econ with mediocre overall grades, better in the higher courses. I also have a B.S in Math with half-decent grades (would probably convert into 3.5 GPA or so). I am now doing a one year master in mathematical statistics and i have mostly top marks. All degrees are from a reputable (at least locally) swedish university. I have not done the GRE test yet. Is it likely that i would have a shot at top-50 US-universities if i get a good GRE score? My main research interests are econometrics and micro. Thank you!

yeah the level of high school education is very high in india and turkey but that still doesn't say anything about the differences between usa and europe. i doubt europeans learn much more math in high school than europeans. Is perhaps econ programs in europe less mathematical or maybe even jsut WORSE? Or is it that admission in america is more competitive and therefore people take lots of math classes they don't even use later?

Why is it, that all american economics programs require a bunch of undergrad math while european ditos only require a little or none? For example, there is not a single swedish phd econ program that has a formal prerequisite of any math at all beyond high school.