akmandal

You should go to Wyoming if you a) are in love with the environment and b) love winters. If either is not true, you will be miserable there.

you can ask me about clemson too.. I am attending their PhD program now.

I disagree onearmedecon. I am sure if you are aware of this fact, as am I, so will the adcom. A good score in the math GRE (even 75th percentile) can only improve your chances. Especially when combined with a good general score.

2400 a year at Clemson, including insurance.

Clemson!

I did not want to say this before it was finalized, but I have decided to transfer from Wyoming to Clemson for next fall. Clemson seems to be a better match for my interests and while this may not apply to everyone, Laramie, as a place to spend 5 years of your life, really sucks. If your bent is in environmental econ, and it really has to be a zealous bent, Laramie would be worth the sacrifice, IMO. If anyone has questions about either Wyoming or Clemson, I would be happy to help. Of the top of my head, however, Dr. David Aadland, the DGS at Wyo, is one of the best professors I have ever had.

My argument is that the government really does no useful **** beyond provision of public goods. I think a better way would be to tie welfare payments to **** it says is useful.

He probably hasn't listed his intro courses.

Ron: The paper is titled "The stock market crash of 2008 caused the great recession". I beg to differ from what you think he prescribes. Farmer prescribed intervention, but not into lending or investment. Rather, he calls for government-aided recovery of asset prices in the stock market, which he believes is the driver of the economy. Whether he is right about his solution or not, one thing is obvious-- fiscal stimulus does not lead to recovery, especially on the spending side.

The central bank is indeed sort of a socialist institution. Why not let markets decide interest rates? The enemies of the free markets produce nothing but hyperbole. Read Farmer's recent paper which shows beyond a reasonable amount of doubt that fiscal stimulus does nothing for economies but adds debt. Krugman's grip on macro is tenuous at best. Unless he is lying to further his political agenda.

WVU. No contest. Unless you like marching with the OWS.

I agree with DGSE's view. I would be happy going to any university with an MS degree in econ. Will my life really be that worse off than if I were, say, at Iowa or Kentucky?

Jersey guy: I disagree. You can even make it from Iowa to Chicago, or from Wyoming to Dartmouth.

Repec also has a ranking of Economics departments. But yeah, point taken. I can't wait for the new US News rankings to come out. What about the NRC rankings (post correction)?

How do you rank the top 100 anyway? REPEC?

You should go to Missouri. You won't be happy at Clemson, for sure. This is for the same reason I like it.

Econbeach: Are you of libertarian bent, stressing on free markets and dislike Krugman?

Clemson hasn't updated its placement page for over a year ( dunno why) but its news page has the following: PhD Student Research Gains Recognition | Clemson Economics I would say they are pretty decent placements depending on what you want to do. Furman is a top tier liberal arts school. And I bet a good record there would mean further improvements to one's career path in the near future.

How do you think economics students talk when they discuss stuff at school? I think EJR is pretty representative of the language we use! :D

You would probably not have to show anything else. That is sufficient for the I-20, probably not sufficient to actually live on comfortably for 5 years.

it's not just about minorities. Admittedly even whites "benefitted" from easier access to credit. However, in normal business practice, such people would not have got loans and the housing bubble, arguably the main precipator or the economic crisis, would have been averted.

Well, the subprime crisis was due to the community reinvestment act, which called for more loans to lower than worthy (credit wise) people, simply because they were of a different color than white. The industry just found a way to profit from those, as is the case for any regulation.

Maybe sociology?

There is just one solution that has been proven over and over to work: Laissez faire. What we need is not for the government to do anything but to get the hell out of our way.

The Australian econ MA is a joke, if the programs at Monash and Melbourne are representative of the quality in the nation. If not, I apologize.