This is question for those with a graduate degree in Econ. How useful have you found your education for your work? I’m considering buying all the textbooks from NYU’s graduate econ track for self-study and future reading (way in the future, that is…) My economics knowledge and education is quite poor. CFA level 1 econ and 3 courses…only basic business school econ foundation (basic macro/micro/international). My other educational insecurity is insufficient understanding of politics and political science…
how do you get the list of books for nyu econ program?
I don’t recommend it. I have a bachelors and masters in the field. I think you should just read a basic macroecon book (Sloman) and a basic microecon book (Varian). I have worked in IB and buyside ER and a good mastery of the fundamentals is useful, but diminishing marginal returns quickly set in.
I agree with Etienne. If the purpose is to learn something practical, only a few books studied rigorously will suffice to provide the information you probably require for the investment fields. At first I recoiled but I later grew to appreciate the quote: “A PhD in economics just proves that what you learned in your first course as an undergraduate was mostly correct.”
Lol. Yep.
For those with econ degrees, what about an “applied” program that takes the concepts then applies statistical analsysis to them? One program I had been looking at is really a blend between econ and stats.
sternwolf and #1 gunner, there was a good thread we had last week which may provide some additional info. not sure if you saw it already… http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?1,795368 hope this helps. i’m kind of in the same position as you - unsure of whether a masters or self study is the way to go. i’m waffling back and forth…kind of depends on whether or not my employer would pay for a part time masters.
the nice thing about self study is that you can focus on the areas that interest you and that are applicable to your work and skip things like indiffernce curves that have absolutely no real world value. of course, the nice thing about the more formal setting (as mentioned in the thread) is the opportunity to bounce ideas off other students/profs and have more structured guidance. plus with a masters, you can say to a potential employer, “i have a masters with a decent gpa” instead of “well gee, i read this book on the train ride home…”
In the meantime I highly recommend getting the lectures on Economics and Modern Economic Issues from The Great Courses for your daily commute. Very entertaining and informative, especially Modern Economic Issues, which presents the economists’ views on everything America faces going forward. http://www.thegreatcourses.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=550 http://www.thegreatcourses.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=5610
Thanks everyone for the info! nikko0355 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > how do you get the list of books for nyu econ > program? Just go to the NYU website and look up the professor lists/course track information. I’m also a stern alum… Etienne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think you should just read a basic macroecon > book (Sloman) and a basic microecon book (Varian). So studying level II cfa econ will basically cover it? Thanks for the link, Pox. It’s highly informative. I’m probably not going to pursue a MA in econ in the future but I see marginal educational value (but strong networking/recruiting potential) in doing a top MBA years down the line. I’ve taken most of the mba core in ugrad and I’ll be done with CPA/CFA already before I even spend money again for another graduate-level degree.
I think trying to learn grad econ on your own would not be the best idea. The first year at most econ programs relies so heavily on mathematics. its almost more of an applied math degree the first year. Take a look at the book that most first year grad students use for micro theory (MWG). Its like a frickin encyclopedia of applied math. I think of all the courses i took in my MA program, econometrics was by far the most applicable and useful. I did an applied econ program and i think it was worth the cost.
Personally, id rather be taught econ then learn it. Econ was my major, i went from the most basic of elements (supply and demand in the FISH market for petes sake), to forecasting and predictability (using regression analysis as well as other models), and i feel that the teachers were a better source of info than the book. Granted, i actually enjoyed the CFA level 1 econ book i got. but it was all review. I surprisingly scored 100% on the econ section of the practice exam. I definitely wont be scoring that in the real exam though… =(