CostaRicanEcon

Hey guys thanks a lot for all the comments! etoposido: I also like international macro a lot, even though I didn't write that in the first post, so thanks for pointing that out. LazyGraduate and primus: I have gotten that recomendation from two professors in my program as well, so my interest has grown, I am trying to make arrangements to make it to visit day. Nalu: I already declined UPenn I do feel they have a very strong program and macro group but I didn't feel they have so many people in my specific area of interest. Yeah I also think Columbia is pretty strong, that is why I am having doubts about which visit day to attend, since Columbia and Northwestern are the same day. Also lately I have been more inclined to decide between Nothwestern and Berkeley, since both departments have showed a lot of interest, several professors (in my field) have emailed me, they told me I can call them if I need information and they have been very nice and helpful. While this has not been the case for Columbia. This per se may not be so informative, but I am wandering if this could be indicative of the degree of interest the department may show later on for students... Any further comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Again thank you very much!

Hey everyone! I wanted to ask the forum's opinion about doing macro at Berkeley vs Northwestern or Columbia. I have been admitted to these programs and I am undecided (although leaning Berkeley). I have been gathering a lot of information to make the best decision, and I would really appreciate your opinion. I especifically like business cycle macro, monetary and fiscal policy and the effect of the zero lower bound. I think Berkeley has a stronger department overall but I really like the macro group at Northwestern. Also Columbia has a great group for this topics. From Berkeley I like: Gorodnichenko, Auerbach, Obstfeld, Romer and Gourinchas, from Northwestern: Christiano, Eichenbaum, Rebelo, Lorenzoni, Berger and Primiceri and from Columbia: Woodford, Reis, Clarida, Uribe and Schmidt-Grohe. Anyway, what do you guys think? Thanks a lot for any comments or suggestions!

Where are you guys getting the info for Berkeley tuition? My letter says that (tuition + nonresident supplemental tuition + fees) = $30000. For the info presented here to be correct it should not be taking NRST into account and this category must be really high!

Thanks man!!! I am so happy right now! Good luck to everybody!

Institution: Stanford Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification Date: 3/4/13 Notified through: Website Posted on GC: No Comments: Prefer Berkeley! Institution: Berkeley Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Notification Date: 3/5/13 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Yeahhh, incredible, so happy, a lot of great people there for me to work with

Only one Berkeley admit in all this time, what is going on??

But the guy in GC saying that we will hear from Berkeley in two more weeks, where can this info be coming from? I would guess something closer to march 1, maybe next week or something, but 2 weeks sounds weird

Yeah actually Berkeley said that they would notify the majority of applicants on March 1 (but this is an estimate subject to change) and the remainder of applicants on March 15. Do you guys know something about MIT, last year it was today right?

Institution: Princeton University Program: Economics PhD Decision: Rejected Notification date: 02/27/2013 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Bummer :-/ Institution: Columbia Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Notification date: 02/27/2013 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: No Comments: Great! Would really like to work with a lot of people there!

I don't know why they write things like TM:"x", it just makes it so easy to tell they are trolls if we check out this thread

But even if those posts where trolls, the 24 hours thing is still true right? Should we expect something for tomorrow?

Institution: Yale Program: PhD Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: No Information Notification date: 2/26/2013 Notified through: e-mail Posted on GC: no Comments: It is a bummer waiting for the letter

Institution: UPenn Program: PhD Economics Decision: Accepted Funding: Fellowship Notification date: 25/02/2013 Notified through: email Posted on GC: no Comments: Great!

Institution: Northwestern Program: Economics PhD Decision: Accepted Funding: Full Notification date: 2/19/2013 Notified through: Email Posted on GC: Yes Comments: So excited, this is great!

No dude, short run as in the periods of time where output deviates significantly from potential output due to some aggregate shock hitting the economy. I would say price rigidities are generally important for these deviations to occur, so in macro the short run is generally between 1 and 3 years. This crisis has lasted longer but again the ZLB makes everything different. My point about the crucial difference between the government and a firm was this: for firms, even really large ones (say walmart) "general equilibrium effects" of employment decisions are negligible or really small, while for the government at a recession (specially under the liquidity trap) they are crucial. That is, if a firm manages to cut back employment and the reduction in revenue is smaller that the savings in salaries then it improved its position and stockholders will be happy. In a recession (again keep in mind the ZLB) if the government cuts back on employment then this could have a significant effect on the economy, this itselfs worsen the government finances through reduced tax income and increased spending in food stamps and unemployment benefits, not to mention the important hysteresis effects that are probably important. This is just one of the ways in which firms and the government differ a lot when you are thinking about short run macro and the reason I personally don't like to make that analogy. I think this is very relevant to the platinum coin stuff because for the government to bring down its deficit abruptly at this point, with the present conditions, would be quite a drag on the economy, while if this is postponed to a time where the economy is out of the liquidity trap and the recession is past, the impact would be quite different. This is why even if a "gimmick" like the platinum coin is used to extend the time when the government has to start cutting back, it would be beneficial. Of course it would be better to do it by choice, but if republicans are demanding ransom to increase the debt ceiling, the coin could be a good idea to reduce their bargaining power.