FriedmanHolmes

Correct me if I'm wrong, but will not most students taking the course have little experience in proof writing? If you're simultaneously concerned about relative standing (your grade, in other words) and being prepared for the rigors of graduate-level economics courses, you best take the more rigorous honours course.

Tim Harford — Article — Best economics podcasts I guess this is a start?

I haven't gotten into podcasts, but they seem really interesting. Does anyone know of any economics podcasts that are kind of political/economic talking about current affairs? I'm not talking about educational podcasts, but rather a political podcast focusing on economics (wow, I can't express myself properly).

I have wondered about this every now and again. Is the word "suggestion" pronounced something like "sug-jest-jun" or "su-jest-jun"?

I'm not an authority on the subject, but in your case wouldn't it be beneficial to attend a university in the country where you wish to work? I say this because the areas of industrial organization/competition policy/regulatory economics are, in many ways, bound by country-specific laws. In other words, you will have a higher chance of gaining employment at a German "regulatory authority or consulting group" if you've already been significantly exposed to the relevant laws/regulations of the country, which is more likely to happen if you attend a German program.

Observation one requires statistics...you're going in circles.

How is employability a better measure of well-roundedness than the GRE or LSAT? If anything, employability statistics (if you had any) are subject to the most severe problems because you're making a second assumption which is that varied employability is predicated on well-roundedness. So you're first of all giving credit to businesses for being able to properly spot a "well-rounded" student, and second assuming the employers are hiring engineers because of well-roundedness and not something else...

Yes, but you haven't offered any employment statistics for what you're claiming.

No offence, but this is hardly an argument given the same logic can be used for the economics students taking the LSAT.

If we were to take another measure--and I would never claim there is a correct measure--we may find something different. For instance, on the LSAT, which is designed to assess reading comprehension, and logical and verbal reasoning proficiencies, it appears Economics majors consistently perform better than engineering students: Average LSAT Scores for 29 Majors with over 400 Students Taking the Exam. Also, if we are to assume that on average an individual pursues the same graduate degree as undergraduate degree (in terms of general subject matter--econ undergrad takes econ, engineering undergrad takes engineering, etc.), it would appear economics students perform on average better than engineering students (have to do a bit of calculating on your own here): GRE Scores by Intended Graduate Major Something to think about...

I should clarify because my intended meaning has been misconstrued. By well-rounded, I meant taking courses that call upon the most faculties or skill sets, be they analytical, verbal, writing, mathematical or otherwise. To use job prospects as the indicator is, in my case, highly misleading. For example, at my university the engineering faculty receives either the most or second most in terms of funding (not sure if it's second to business), has the highest entry standards, most restrictive course requirements, etc. Obviously these graduates are going to have great job prospects and, further, varied job prospects. But that is not my interpretation of being well-rounded. In fact, I find employers are not focused on well-roundedness, but specialization. This is part of the reason engineers have such high employability--they specialize, be it in civil, electrical, mechanical or otherwise. The short of it is this: employability does not equate to well-roundedness. As such, I do not think it should be used as a measure of well-roundedness.

Yeah, if GRE scores are any indication, it seems philosophy majors do quite well with the various components involved. At any rate, how much writing do engineers do while in undergrad? I don't think it's that much to be honest...

Which undergraduate is the most well-rounded? A loaded question to be sure, but I am curious as to the response. Obviously there is a sense of superiority with any major ("mine is best"), but I would genuinely rate the economics major as among the top 5 most well-rounded when accounting for factors such as mathematical, analytical, logical, and writing ability. Furthermore, I am convinced that--at my university at least--an economics major must utilize the most abilities out of any Arts major. ...this is totally self-serving, so someone put me in my place?

I would say the honours vs. double major debate really depends on what the respective school requires for completion of the honours degree. For instance, at my university a number of extra courses are required: mathematical economics, econometrics, advanced micro/macro, etc. Further, some schools likely require a research component and I would argue an honours degree with research experience is more beneficial than a double major--most of all because you'll get good references through the research experience.

Munk Debates - Home The Munk Debates are always stimulating; this one is shaping up to be no different. Will the 21st century belong to China?