Hello! I am a first year student of Economic and Social Sciences at Bocconi University in Milan. I thought about the career in academia, so there are certain questions I have. I am involved in my associations writing articles about macroeconomic topics etc. Thought it was a good start to later on (after 1st year) get something more serious with the help of the professor. I am interested about behavioral sciences and sociology/psychology. The thing is that I do not want to do master's before starting phd if I get selected. I just cannot see myself here in Milan in ESS or any other European school. I want to leave and study in the US. My dream program is Caltech's Social Sciences. Any advice what I should do to throughout these years of my bachelor's program? Would appreciate any feedback!

Hello all!

I'm currently finishing up my third-year at university. On some advice from professors (and the internet's general consensus that starting research early is good for those interested in grad school) I've started the process of doing some research I hope to turn into an undergraduate thesis/paper.

I was curious what people's general advice/thoughts on the process were. Things like "every undergrad paper does this and it always makes the paper worse" or "the best paper I've ever seen written by an undergrad focused on these parts."

Obviously the specifics of the paper are important, but this question is more about general structure, argument style, and common econometric/methodology mistakes you see. Thanks for any input at all, curious what people have to say!

Is anyone aware of anyone who has actually collated information on who and by how much intake is down this year?

I've seen a lot of anecdotal info about 'School X has reduced', 'School Y has no intake'...but very curious about the overall numbers.

Hi all. I am on a gap year, starting undergrad this September. I have done IB / high school economics (and maths), and I’ve done an MiT open course on introductory statistics.

I have what I guess would be considered an applied microeconomics research topic; basically, I’m big into alternative music and I happened to notice that bands in the UK don’t seem to play at student unions anymore. I was looking to see if I could by any identify if there is a (negative) correlation between student union gigs over time, and if so, what the causes of it are (eg, perhaps uni regulations or maybe high costs).

I did a quick google and this shouldn’t be something anyone has already researched.

I know that to do something like this I should really have a good knowledge of econometrics / regression. But since it’s such an amateur bit of research, would it be alright to do it with only introductory undergraduate level stats?

Of course, if this topic has some limitation that means any research would be of poor quality then please feel free to say!

However, if this is something that is achievable, and anyone has any general tips for me, that would be much appreciated!

I am struggling to decide between my offers to Michigan and UCLA. I'm certain I want to do health economics (applied micro, with a particular interest in nutrition), and both places seem very good for quality of life. The placements also seem similar.

Anyone have any insights that could inform my decision?

Hello everyone,

I’m currently exploring a research question related to microfinance institutions (MFIs) for my master’s graduation thesis (due in 2026). The most comprehensive and accessible dataset I’ve found so far is from the World Bank (MIXMarket), but it only covers data up to 2019. Given the complexity of the information—such as financial and outreach performance—it would be quite difficult for me to obtain comparable, updated data independently.

Would it be acceptable to use pre-2020 data for this kind of research? I’d also really appreciate any suggestions if you happen to know of other databases with more recent or relevant data on MFIs.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Best regards,
Thanh

Do predocs or PhD programs value them, and if so, how much?

For context, I’m a second-year undergrad at a U.S. top-10 currently double-majoring in math and econ but thinking of—at least next year—focusing heavily on the former (analysis, algebra, topology, differential equations) and maybe not taking any econ classes, since I’ll have done just enough for an econ minor (including two courses in upper-level undergrad metrics) by the end of this year.

The above is to keep my options open in case I decide I actually want to go into math and not econ (and more rigorous math can’t hurt anyway), but this would mean that I might only have one or two econ recommendations from either my professors this year and/or whoever I might do research with (I’ll still be involved in the department).

Hey everyone,
I am a doctor who went to med school outside the US and am planning to do a residency in the US eventually. For the past ~4 years, I have worked in cost-effectiveness analysis and healthcare policy research while in med school, mostly focused on decision-analytic modeling. I have led a few publications in high-impact journals (10–20 IF range).

Lately, I’ve been thinking about whether it’s worth doing a PhD in health economics or decision sciences since I enjoy this kind of work. But I’m unsure how competitive I would be for PhD programs in the US or UK. Would I need a master’s in econ before applying? Also, outside of academia, what kind of career options would a PhD in this area open up?

Thanks!

Looking for advice on how to structure my cover letter and what skills do i need. Have wanted to intern over here for two years.

How would I go about studying prez trump economic policies? His unorthodox policies make for good papers.

I know the title is crazy but hear me out.

Im in an australian university and the economics department is embedded in a business school, hence it's more applied and less mathematical.

My undergraduate degree is a business degree with a major in Econometrics and a minor in business analytics. I've also taken intermediate micro and macro.

My university doesn't formally require any math units for an economics phd so I'm safe in that regard. Practically speaking, would I suffer through an economics phd?

The phd program is fully research based with almost no coursework beyond a few in research methodologies/ethics.

I want to research about the long term relationship between GDP and health, with an empirical/econometrics/policy focus.

Would I practically suffer without any college level math? I have taken advanced calculus and linear algebra in high school/pre university. I'm naturally quantitatively-inclined.

Hi all,

I am looking for a masters degree in econ where I'll have enough exposure to DS, Analytics. Cause a lot of people are saying that econ is too theoretical and doesn't have good job prospect. So I wanna work with macro economics with tech expertise.

Any kind soul knows which university I should look into?

P.S. I am barely above average but trying to do better and I am an intl student with US as my first choice.

Some time ago I saw a youtube bideo that mentioned a paper that supposedly proved that raising the minimum wage decreases unemployment and I cant seem to remember what paper or video it was. If anyone has any idea on the name of the paper it would be a lot of help, thanks in advance

I am an economist with a Master's in Public Policy and studies in project management. However, my recent interest focuses on the intersection between economics and the environment. I recently discovered Conservation Economics and would like to receive recommendations for literature that explores this relationship.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Can anyone help me with the pros and cons of the above. It will be very helpful. Thank You.

I don’t know if its just a “my European mind can’t comprehend this” thing but this sub seems really strange. Everyone is absolutely obsessed with uni rankings and stressing over them. I also find it really strange that people are talking about if economics is “worth it” to study and comparing it to other fields like math, stats or cs. I, for one study economics because I find it really interesting, not because I think I’ll make tons of money as an economist. Wouldn’t it be more fun just to study whatever you find interesting and to stop stressing over everything?

I'm on several waitlists for PhD Econ this year, from a T5 all the way to a T20. Unfortunately, I have received no offers, only waitlists, so whether I do a PhD this year depends on if I get off any of these waitlists. I'm super anxious right now, I've contacted the T5 profs and been in touch with the committee. Don't know what else to do.

Is anybody else on the same boat? Those who went to visit days (I didn't because I'm international), what do we expect with respect to waitists this year? Let's hope it turns out well.

Anyone have any thoughts on any of these Econ PhD programs? I am looking for more conceptual programs (not-super quant heavy). Not afraid of math, just do not want it to be the sole focus. I am more so after a policy focus. Very open to both academia and govt/policy related roles.

1) George Mason University

2) Vanderbilt

3) Clemson

4) Auburn

5) West Virginia University

6) Florida State University

7) Claremont

8) Ole Miss

I've been exploring how well different LLM-powered tools handle visual data from academic papers, especially in economics, where graphs, quantile plots, and geographic maps often carry crucial meaning that text alone can’t fully capture.

To explore this, I compared the performance of DeepTutor, ChatGPT (GPT-4.5), and DeepSeek (DeepSeek R1) on interpreting figures from the well-known economics paper:

"Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets" by Acemoglu and Restrepo.

The paper：https://shapingwork.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Robots-and-Jobs-Evidence-from-US-Labor-Markets.p.pdf

The focus was on how these models interpreted figures like Fig. 4, 9, and 10, which present key insights on wage impacts and geographic robot exposure.

Task Example 1:

Question: "Which demographic group appears most negatively or positively affected by robot exposure across wage quantiles?"

More detail with example responses:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepTutor/comments/1jj8ail/deeptutor_vs_chatgpt_45_vs_deepseek_r1_who/

ChatGPT (GPT-4.5):

• Gave plausible-sounding text but made inferences not supported by the figures (e.g., implied high-wage workers may benefit, which contradicts Fig. 10).
• Did not reference specific quantiles or cite visual evidence.

DeepSeek(DeepSeek R1):

• Some improvement; acknowledged wage differences and mentioned some figure components.
• Missed key insights like the lack of positive effect for any group (even advanced degree holders), which is a central claim of the paper.

DeepTutor:

• Cited the 5th to 85th percentile range from Fig. 10B.
• Explicitly mentioned no wage gains for any group, including those with advanced degrees.
• Synthesized insights from multiple figures and tables to build a more complete interpretation.

Task Example 2:

Question: "Can you explain Figure 4?" (A U.S. map showing robot exposure by region)

More detail with example responses:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepTutor/comments/1jj8ail/deeptutor_vs_chatgpt_45_vs_deepseek_r1_who/

ChatGPT (GPT-4.5):

• Paraphrased the text but showed almost no engagement with the visual layout.
• Ignored the distinction between Panel A and B.

DeepSeek(DeepSeek R1):

• Acknowledged two-panel structure.
• Mentioned shading patterns but lacked specific visual explanation (e.g., geographic or grayscale detail).

DeepTutor:

• Identified both panels and explained the grayscale gradient, highlighting high-exposure regions like the Southeast and Midwest.
• Interpreted Panel B’s exclusion of automotive industry robots and inferred sectoral patterns.
• Cross-referenced other figures (e.g., Figure 10) to contextualize labor market impacts.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Figure Understanding Summary

💬 Would love feedback:

• How are you evaluating visual comprehension in LLMs?
• Are there other papers you’d recommend testing this on?
• If you're doing similar work — let’s connect or compare notes!

DeepTutor:
https://deeptutor.knowhiz.us/

More detail with example responses:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepTutor/comments/1jj8ail/deeptutor_vs_chatgpt_45_vs_deepseek_r1_who/

I was hoping to get some guidance on good intermediate/advanced macro textbooks. I was recently admitted into a PhD program after taking a year off following getting my undergraduate degrees, and after talking to a friend who is currently taking a macro class, I realized how much of the topic has left my mind. In specific, I really want to brush up on currency, trade, monetary policy, and Keynesian frameworks for supply and demand, etc., but I'd love a general textbook on macroeconomics.

For context, I double majored in math and economics, so I think I can handle and would desire a more math heavy/ computationally heavy work if that's possible. Thanks in advance for any advice, if you have more questions about my situation/what I want, let me know.

Just remember you don't need any knowledge or abilities to be an economist:
https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/reciprocal-tariff-calculations

Hi all,

I have an offer from LSE for the EME programme. My alternatives are any of the top masters programmes in Germany. Are the 38k GBP a worthwhile investment if my goal is to maximise my PhD placement?

Hi. I’m a junior at an unranked (maybe T200?) undergraduate program in the US, double major in Quantitative Economics and Mathematics, while doing an MS in Applied Econometrics (it’s a combined program, I’ll have earned all three degrees in a total of 9 semesters.)

• Courses in math: calc 1-3, diffeq, discrete math, mathematical proofs, real analysis, Fourier analysis, graph theory, linear algebra (computational + proof-based), probability theory 1 and 2, and computational statistics.

• Grad economics courses: econometrics 1 and 2, time series econometrics, econometric forecasting, graduate micro + macro, and some electives.

• 3.9 GPA in math, 3.96 GPA in economics

• Research: Presented my time series trade paper at a national economics conference (to preserve anonymity I will refrain from commenting on which one.) I also wrote a couple neat papers on Erdos-Straus conjecture and pentagonal plane tiling. I have a spectral analysis paper in the works.

• Federal Reserve macroeconomics research internship

• Critical Language Scholarship 2024 (unrelated to economics but a perhaps unique motivator for my empirical interest in trade/macro)

The undergraduate research prestige is unfortunate. Please comment on where I currently have realistic chances of admission, and appropriate steps to find myself at a more prestigious PhD.

Background: I have an undergrad in CS from a third world country; I have ~10 YOE in data science/analytics (incl. at Amazon). I recently started a job at a fast-growing digital bank (think Revolut) and fell in love with the field. I'd like to remain in banking for the rest of my career.

I got accepted at the University of Bath's online Master's in Applied Economics (Banking & Financial Markets) so I can continue working while studying. I have a strong idea on what I want to do my master's project on -- an in-depth study of my country's liquidity crisis, in which I and many people I know lost significant savings held in banks.

Questions

1. Is an admission into a top PhD program with this background a pipe-dream? I want to be realistic about my future prospects.
2. I intend to stay in industry; my ideal jobs would be at a central bank, or institutions like the IMF or WB. I'd love to work in monetary policy. Are these positions impossible to get without a PhD, especially with just an MSc from a non-target?
3. Is UoB reputed enough that the master's even makes sense from a credentials PoV?

Thank you :)

I'm still waiting on a decision from PSE, but I am not sure about both programmes. Leaving the financial aspects aside (BSE is a lot more expensive) I want to know which would be better prep for T20 PhD or PhD in LSE/UCL. I'm interested in economic development.

Thanks!