Teaching

I usually teach ECON 201: Microeconomic Principles, ECON 309: Intermediate Price Theory, or ECON 411 Introduction to Game Theory.  If you are one of my students, please visit the course website for course documents.

Blogs and Other Readings

If you want to know more about what professional economists are thinking about these days, one way to do this is to read a blog.  I've linked to a few below.  Also, don't forget about the department's Facebook page which is occasionally updated with news and events.

• American Economic Association There is a lot to offer on this site, but check out the "Research Highlights" posts.  These articles are capable and accessible summaries of the latest research appearing in some of the top journals of the profession.

• X/Twitter. Academic economists have a community on X (formerly Twitter). Try #EconTwitter

• VOX This site features high quality, daily columns from economists reporting on their recent research.  There is an orientation towards international and macro but there are quite a few micro columns as well.  Can be tough reading for an economist-in-training, but good practice.

• Marginal Revolution Slightly more accessible blog written by two economists at George Mason University.  

• Resource Economics at Towson A blog featuring posts on environmental and natural resource economics.  Guest posts by students sometimes appear.  Maintained by our very own James Manley.

Grad School Advice (PhD in Economics)

Grad schools are looking for students they think will be able to do high quality research. Having strong quantitative and analytical skills is important, but equally important is having the creativity to ask interesting questions and devising ways of answering them convincingly. Grad schools can evaluate your quantitative skills and your willingness to take on challenges by looking at your transcripts and GREs. The more hard courses you've taken and done well in, the better. It's more difficult to assess the qualitative aspects of applicants, and for that they rely on letters of recommendation and possibly essays. So it's important to not only take and do well in hard classes but to also get to know your econ professors so they can write a good letter for you.

Here's my recommendation for math and econ courses you should take:

Math: The bare minimum includes Calculus I, II, and III (MATH 273-275) and Elementary Linear Algebra (MATH 265). I highly recommend that you take Intro to Abstract Math (MATH 267). Other recommended math courses to take include Mathematical Statistics (MATH 332), Probability (MATH 331), Intro Real Analysis (MATH 473), and Differential Equations (MATH 374). Of these, I think real analysis is the most important. Take it if at all possible. Diff eq is least important, but others might disagree. It wouldn't hurt to take a computer science course in programming, either. Students that only want a terminal masters in econ should take Calc I, II, and Linear Algebra.

Econ: Take Intro Math Econ (ECO 451), Introduction to Econometrics (ECON 401), and be sure to write an honors thesis (ECON 499). Introduction to Game Theory (ECON 411) and Computational Economics (ECON 431) are also helpful. Don't forget to take topics courses so that you can see how economics applies in various areas, and also to possibly stimulate a thesis topic.

Grad schools are looking for students they think will be able to do high quality research. Having strong quantitative and analytical skills is important, but equally important is having the creativity to ask interesting questions and devising ways of answering them convincingly. Grad schools can evaluate your quantitative skills and your willingness to take on challenges by looking at your transcripts and GREs. The more hard courses you've taken and done well in, the better. It's more difficult to assess the qualitative aspects of applicants, and for that they rely on letters of recommendation and possibly essays. So it's important to not only take and do well in hard classes but to also get to know your econ professors so they can write a good letter for you.

Where should you apply? First try to get a realistic sense of what quality of program you can get into. You should consult with a professor about this. Then apply to a bunch of schools around that quality, a few above, and a few below. If you know what area of economics you want to concentrate in, take a look at this paper by Grijalva and Nowell. It is getting a little dated now, but they rank departments by specialty. It's no use going to a good school that doesn't have a good program in your field of interest, and a school that has a low general ranking may stand out in a particular specialty.N

Don't just take my word for it! Check out what Greg Mankiw and Susan Athey have to say. The BYU economics department has put together a pretty nice guide for undergrads interested in pursuing grad school. The American Economic Association (AEA) has a section of its website devoted to graduate study in economics. There are tons of rankings of econ departments, just ask Google or check out the AEA links.

Where should you apply? First try to get a realistic sense of what quality of program you can get into. You should consult with a professor about this. Then apply to a bunch of schools around that quality, a few above, and a few below. If you know what area of economics you want to concentrate in, take a look at this paper by Grijalva and Nowell. It is getting a little dated now, but they rank departments by specialty. It's no use going to a good school that doesn't have a good program in your field of interest, and a school that has a low general ranking may stand out in a particular specialty.