IOdev

Thanks so much guys for your thoughts. @chiaki - UPenn have some dev people (Behrman, Wolpin, Todd) but they seem more focussed on education/labor type stuff and very little on firms. I don't think they're too big on IO either; they're structural stuff seems much more macro-oriented. Btw, I had just heard from a current student that lots of big firms had moved out to NY and DC, and they weren't too upbeat on job opportunities. That said, I know very little about Philly and have no first hand experience (until the flyout). @mindlessme - Yep, LSE has some really great guys and has a few very good placements each year (bear in mind much of each cohort has a preference to stay close to home in EU). However, I don't like the academic environment in the UK and what I've experienced in the US has led me to strictly prefer doing the PhD here. I wonder if you guys have any thoughts on whether there's value-added to an econ dept program relative to one in a bus. sch (both in pure Econ)? How would you rank Booth itself? And do you think there's any difference in terms of policy-type internships during grad school (Fed/WB/IMF etc)?

Thanks so much guys for your thoughts. @chiaki - UPenn have some dev people (Behrman, Wolpin, Todd) but they seem more focussed on education/labor type stuff and very little on firms. I don't think they're too big on IO either; they're structural stuff seems much more macro-oriented. Btw, I had just heard from a current student that lots of big firms had moved out to NY and DC, and they weren't too upbeat on job opportunities. That said, I know very little about Philly and have no first hand experience (until the flyout). @mindlessme - Yep, LSE has some really great guys and has a few very good placements each year (bear in mind much of each cohort has a preference to stay close to home in EU). However, I don't like the academic environment in the UK and what I've experienced in the US has led me to strictly prefer doing the PhD here. I wonder if you guys have any thoughts on whether there's value-added to an econ dept program relative to one in a bus. sch (both in pure Econ)? How would you rank Booth itself? And do you think there's any difference in terms of policy-type internships during grad school (Fed/WB/IMF etc)?

Thanks very much for the feedback. @chiaki - there are a few people that do development (Behrman, Wolpin, Todd), but it seems to be more labor/education focussed with very little on the firm side. Moreover, while they have loads of guys doing macro, it looks like almost no one (Fieler is the only one I've found) does trade. On Philly, I'd heard it's location between DC and NY caused a lot of industry to relocate, but that's just hearsay. @mindlessme - I agree, LSE is great for dev, I just have a rather low opinion of academia in the UK and from what I've experienced in the US I would love to do my PhD here. Plus new country etc is always fun. Do you guys have an opinion on whether there's value-added to a pure Econ degree rather than one out of a bus. school? How would you say Booth Econ PhD ranks? And what do you think of prospects for internships etc with Fed/IMF/WB coming from a bus. school compared to pure econ? Thanks!

Thanks OutOfGame! Much appreciated.

Hi, I'm new to the forum and would really appreciate your input on these programs. As it stands, I've narrowed down my choice to Booth Econ Phd, UPenn Econ PhD and LSE MRes/PhD. All are funded, though Booth considerably more so than the others. I'm also in at Minnesota and UCSD, but believe these to be dominated by my other choices. My interests are in trade, IO and industrial development. While Booth doesn't have too much on the dev side, they are great in IO and have a couple of people in the precise area I'm interested in (Chang-Tai Hsieh, Ralph Ossa, [Chad Syverson]). They've also got great trade guys in the Econ department, who I'd have access too. LSE's faculty is strong in that area, but I have UK undergrad and would strictly prefer to go to the US for the PhD. Finally, Penn seems OK but I've heard some worrying things about the department, and Philadelphia doesn't sound too great either. Location is also an issue (my wife's coming with me and would be seeking work). I want to stay in academia, but would like to keep the option of policy-side jobs open too. I wonder whether there's a difference between straight econ programs, and one's housed in business schools, in this respect? What are you guys' thoughts? I'd really appreciate it! Thanks....