I have to say the student input for Wisconsin is much better than UT. Many of the Master students in Wisconsin are those who got bad luck and rejected by all the phd programs they applied for, They are much better prepared for Phd study and have a better idea about the whole application process, so the placement looks better.
For the second batch of student in Wisconsin, I heard one was admitted by Northwestern, several got Wisconsin and several others got into top30 schools. The student quality of the second batch is not as good as the first batch so the placement is not as good, but still might be the best among all the Econ Master's programs in the US.
I am not going to say wisconsin get this placement record for free. But taking the student quality into consideration, Wisconsin is not as much value-added as they are trying to make you believe. Many of the students deserved Phd admission letters two years ago and after another two years of preparation, they can only perform better.The inability to place students in top20 schools other than Wisconsin itself is also a concern.
And don't forget the placement on the website are those who get admitted by somewhere. There are a number of people who applied and got nothing as well.