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The path to an economics PhD

Author

Listed:
  • Garrison Schlauch

    (UCSB)

  • Richard Startz

    (UCSB)

Abstract

We examine the pre-graduate school characteristics of PhD candidates graduating from the top 50 American economics programs. Among candidates from American undergraduate institutions, we find that those who are male, have undergraduate honors, hold an undergraduate major or minor in math and come from highly ranked undergraduate institutions are more likely to graduate from from highly ranked PhD programs. They are more likely to have research assistant experience and less likely to have a graduate degree between completing their undergraduate studies and beginning their PhD (unlike international candidates). In the top five PhD programs, nearly 60% of Americans entered with post-undergraduate research assistant experience while 10% of Americans and 75% of international students entered with a graduate degree. Finally, American candidates from liberal arts colleges or unranked undergraduate institutions graduate from lower ranked PhD programs than those from national universities, i.e. non-liberal arts, non-regional, ranked universities.

Suggested Citation

  • Garrison Schlauch & Richard Startz, 2018. "The path to an economics PhD," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(4), pages 1864-1876.
  • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-18-00518
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2018/Volume38/EB-18-V38-I4-P173.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wendy A. Stock & John J. Siegfried, 2014. "Fifteen Years of Research on Graduate Education in Economics: What Have we Learned?," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 287-303, December.
    2. Shelly Lundberg, 2019. "Report: Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP)," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 676-694, May.
    3. T. Aldrich Finegan & Wendy A. Stock & John J. Siegfried, 2006. "Matriculation in U.S. Economics Ph.D. Programs: How Many Accepted Americans Do Not Enroll?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 453-457, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jones, Todd R. & Sloan, Arielle A., 2021. "The Academic Origins of Economics Faculty," IZA Discussion Papers 14965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economics PhD;

    JEL classification:

    • A2 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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