Economics
The graduate program of the Department of Economics is addressed to students of high promise who wish to prepare themselves in teaching and research or for responsible positions in government, research organizations, or business enterprises. Admission to the program is limited to candidates for the PhD. Students are expected to devote themselves full-time to their program of study. Students who seek the AM degree only cannot be admitted.
There are six major requirements for the doctoral degree. They are
- taking a written examination in economic theory,
- satisfying course requirements in distribution and in quantitative methods,
- writing a research paper in the second year,
- taking an oral examination on two special fields selected by the student,
- presenting a seminar on the student’s research, and
- preparing a doctoral dissertation.
The student is expected to satisfy the first four requirements within two years of residence. The department does not assume that students will have completed their professional training by that time, but does expect them to have formed an appreciation of the discipline of economics, to have settled on their personal fields of interest, and to have learned to apply their discipline to those fields. The examinations are designed to verify that the candidate has attained a broad integration of this sort.
Course of Study
Several kinds of knowledge are required of a professional or academic economist. An economist must understand the nature of long-term changes in the economy (economic history); the best thinking about the ways in which economic units interact with each other and with their environment, respond to change, and develop over time (economic theory and its intellectual development); and the techniques by which economic data are assembled, evaluated, and analyzed (statistical method and its application). In addition an economist needs the discipline and versatility gained by detailed study of some economic problems and policy areas (the optional fields).
Admissions Requirements
Concentration in economics is preferred but not required. Students will need a strong undergraduate training in both economics and mathematics. All applicants are required to take the GRE. If English is not the candidate’s native language, there are two acceptable ways to demonstrate English proficiency: 1) Hold a degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction; 2) Score at least 215 on the computerized test and 550 on the written Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS); Box 899; Princeton, NJ 08541.
To request an application for admission, write to the Admissions and Financial Aid Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; or visit www.gsas.harvard.edu .
Admissions Information 2006-2007
Number of Applications Received: 676
Number Admitted: 43
GRE Scores (Admitted Applicants)
Quantitative: 770 – 800
Average: 798
Analytical: 3.5 – 6
Average: 5.3
On-campus interviews are not granted. The application for admission is the basis for evaluation of each candidate. It is essential that the Admissions Office receive all admissions materials by the due date.
Financial Aid
The department has limited funding for financial support of graduate study, based both on need and merit. The program is administered by the Graduate School. In order to be admitted, a student must normally have adequate resources for the first two years of graduate study, either from outside public or private sources, or in the form of financial support (financial aid) from the University up to a minimal level of need, as determined by the Graduate School. After the first two years, financial support takes the form, largely, of teaching and research assistantships. Aside from exceptional circumstances, no direct financial support is available beyond a five-year study period for the PhD.
Teaching Fellowships
The Department of Economics offers teaching fellowships to degree candidates to provide both financial support and experience in teaching under supervision. Teaching is considered part of the training for the PhD, and students who have completed two years in the program are encouraged to apply.
Degree Requirements
Academic Residence Requirement
Two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent) are required.
Plan of Study
During the first year of graduate study, graduate students are normally required to take formal courses in advanced microeconomic and macroeconomic theory in preparation for the required examination in economic theory. In addition, they should satisfy the course requirements in quantitative methods and may begin work on fulfillment of the distribution requirement.
In preparation for the General Oral Examination, described in more detail below, students are encouraged to choose from a very large selection of courses offered each year in the department and pertinent courses offered in other departments. In some fields, but not all, there is a two-term sequence of courses intended as the basic preparation for an oral examination in the field. A student may wish to take more than two terms’ work in the field chosen for the examination, including a research seminar or a reading program under the guidance of a member of the faculty.
Mathematics Requirement
Students are expected to have a strong background in linear algebra and calculus upon entering the program; knowledge of differential equations and statistics is also very helpful. For those who wish to supplement or refresh their mathematics background, the department offers Economics 2030 (Mathematics and Optimization Theory for Economists) in the fall term. This course covers selected topics in calculus as well as some topics in linear algebra and optimization theory which are used in economic analysis.
Written Examination
There are two written examinations in economic theory—one each in microeconomics and macroeconomics—which are administered in the spring and fall. Students must pass each examination with a grade of B or better. They ordinarily take the examinations in the spring term of the first year of graduate study. In preparation, students must normally enroll in Economics 2010a-b, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, and Economics 2010c-d, Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. However, they will be excused from one or more of these courses by passing the corresponding part of the theory examination with a grade of B or better when they enter in the fall.
Course Requirements
Students satisfy the econometrics methods requirement by completing Introduction to Applied Econometrics, Economics 2120 (with a grade of B or better). Economics 2120 is offered in the spring term. Students should take Quantitative Methods, Economics 2110, in the fall. This is a prerequisite for Economics 2120. The econometrics requirement may be satisfied by a more advanced course with the approval of the instructor. This requirement normally is completed during the fist year of graduate study.
The distribution requirement is fulfilled by passing one course (with grade of B+ or better) from a list of courses available in the Graduate Office. The purpose of the requirement is to ensure that students are exposed to non-standard ways of thinking about issues central to economics. This is normally done by taking a course in economic history, a course involving non-standard approaches to economics, or a course in disciplines of social inquiry (anthropology, government, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc.) that deals with economic topics from the perspectives of those disciplines.
This requirement is frequently satisfied in the first year. The course must be taken during the time students are enrolled in the graduate program. (Courses taken as an undergraduate or in other graduate programs will not be considered.) Courses offered primarily for undergraduates may be acceptable provided there is a provision for graduate students to take the course with additional requirements.
Second-Year Research Paper
In the spring term of the second year, students must enroll in Economics 3000 (Research Paper) and begin work on the second-year paper under the supervision of a member of the faculty of the department. Students must complete the research paper to the satisfaction of their faculty supervisor and receive a grade of SAT in Economics 3000 before they may take the General Oral Examination.
General Oral Examinations
The General Examination is a one-hour oral examination. One half-hour is devoted to each of two optional fields. A student must complete the written examination in economic theory, the course requirements in quantitative methods and economic history, and the second-year research paper before taking the oral examination. This examination is normally taken between the second and third years of graduate study.
In selecting fields for the oral examination, the candidate must choose at least one field from the following list:
Economic Theory Econometrics
Experimental Economics Macroeconomics
Economic Development Economic History
Public Economics International Economics
Industrial Organization Financial Economics
Labor Economics
Students may take a second field from the list or may propose a second optional field for advanced study that is especially adapted to the candidate’s interests and needs. A special field of study may be approved if it meets the criteria:
- that there is a significant body of economic literature in the field,
- that the field is sufficiently broad to be recognizable as a field for teaching and research, and
- that a member of the faculty offers instruction in the field and is prepared to give an oral examination in it.
An optional field will not be approved if it is a field of specialization within one of the other fields presented by the candidate.
Seminars
After passing the General Oral Examination, students must enroll in a working seminar. Students must present a seminar within one year of passing the oral examination.
Students are encouraged to participate in a working seminar after completing their orals for as long as they are in residence.
Dissertation Committee Requirement
Within one year of passing the oral examination, students must assemble a dissertation committee consisting of at least two faculty members, and must complete a preliminary research plan of at most five pages, which is signed by the dissertation committee. The signed research plan will become part of the student’s file kept in the Graduate Office.
Dissertation
The candidate is required to demonstrate the ability to perform original research in economics by presenting a dissertation that includes a significant contribution to economic knowledge. There is no requirement as to length of the dissertation; its acceptability depends entirely on the originality and significance of the research undertaken and on the competence of its presentation.
The completed dissertation will be accepted by the department upon recommendation by a dissertation committee, consisting of the dissertation supervisor and two other faculty members. The student is expected to keep in touch with members of the dissertation committee on the progress of research. The final preparation of the dissertation manuscript must conform to the booklet, The Form of the PhD Dissertation.
Good Standing
Students enrolled in the PhD program may be subject to termination of candidacy if they fail to remain in good standing, as defined below:
- Within three years of residence, the student shall complete the written theory examination, the course requirements in distribution and econometrics, the second-year paper, and the General Oral Examination.
- Within three years of residence of completing all the requirements listed above in (1), the student shall complete the seminar requirements and the dissertation.
Students who fail to remain in good standing are not eligible for financial support or employment through Harvard, including employment as a teaching fellow. Exceptions to these requirements for good standing will be granted by the department only in very unusual circumstances on the basis of a petition by the student. The dissertation must be submitted in final form within five years of the date of the oral examination; otherwise, the student’s candidacy for the PhD automatically lapses.
PhD Dissertation Titles 2005-2006
“Psychology, Preferences, and Markets”
“Information and Monopolistic Pricing”
“Essays on the Economics of Copying with an Application to the Recorded Music Industry”
“Black Migration and White Flight: Essays
on Northern Housing and Labor Markets, 1940-1970”
“Parental Preferences and Investments in Children’s Human Capital”
“Essays in Political Economy and Corporate Finance”
“The Evolution of the Market for Corporate Executives across the Twentieth Century”
“Essays in the Economics of Information”
“Essays in Applied Microeconomics”
“Three Essays on the Economics of the Environment, Energy and Externalities”
“Essays on Finance and Macroeconomics”
“Essays in the Economics of Disease”
“Essays on the Economics of Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation, and Marketing”
“Essays in International Economics and Finance”
“Essays on the Life Cycle”
“Essays in Financial Economics and Corporate- Bankruptcy”
“Essays on Institutional Design”
“Essays in Economic Development”
“Essays on the Economics of Social Interaction-”
“Essays in Globalization”
Joint Programs
PhD in Business Economics
This program is administered by a standing committee composed of members of the Department of Economics and the Graduate School of Business Administration. It is described in the section of this publication entitled “The PhD in Business Economics.” Additional information can be found on the Web at www.hbs.edu/doctoral . Inquiries about this program should be directed to Doctoral This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Harvard Business School, Doctoral Programs Office, Sherman Hall, Boston, MA 02163.
PhD in Political Economy and Government
This program is administered by a standing committee composed of members of the Departments of Economics, Government, and the JFK School of Government and is described in a section of this publication -entitled “The PhD Under the Committee on Political Economy and Government.” Written inquiries about this program should be sent to Director of Doctoral Programs, JFK School of Government, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Applications for admissions and for grants, together with information regarding admissions procedures, may be obtained by writing directly to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. We encourage online submission of the application. See www.gsas.harvard.edu .
Further information regarding courses and programs of study in economics may
be obtained by writing directly to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies, Department of Economics, Littauer Center 201, Cambridge, MA 02138, or by visiting the department’s Website at www.economics.harvard.edu .
Department of Economics
Faculty Research Interests
2005-2006
Aghion, Philippe. Economic Theory, Development, Industrial Organization
Alesina, Alberto. Political Economy, Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Macroeconomics
Ambrus, Attila. Game Theory, Microeconomic Theory
Antràs, Pol. International Economics, Macroeconomics
Ardagna, Silvia. Macroeconomics, Fiscal Policy
Athey, Susan. Microeconomic theory, Industrial Organization, Econometrics
Barro, Robert. Economic Growth, Macroeconomics
Benmelech, Effi. Empirical Corporate Finance, Financial Contracting, Debt Maturity, Financial Markets, Economic History, Bankruptcy
Campbell, John. Asset Pricing, Macroeconomics
Chamberlain, Gary. Econometrics
Cooper, Richard. International Economics, International Trade, International Monetary Economics, International Environmental and Energy Issues
Cutler, David. Public Economics, Health Economics
Doraszeslki, Ulrich. Industrial Organization, Computational Economics
Farhi, Emmanuel. Macroeconomics
Feldstein, Martin. Public Economics, Taxation, Social Insurance, Macroeconomics
Field, Erica. Development Economics, Labor Economics
Freeman, Richard. Labor Economics and Institutions, Inequality, Crime, Philanthropy, European Labor Markets, Computer Simulation Modeling, Trade Unionism
Friedman, Benjamin. Macroeconomics, Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Fryer, Roland. Applied Theory, Applied Microeconomics, Labor Economics
Fuchs-Schuendeln, Nicola. Macroeconomics, International Economics, Behavioral Economics
Fudenberg, Drew. Game Theory, Microeconomic Theory
Glaeser, Edward. Urban Economics, Social Economics, Institutions
Goldin, Claudia. Economic History, Labor Economics
Gopinath, Gita. International macroeconomics, Trade
Green, Jerry. Microeconomic Theory
Hart, Oliver. Microeconomics
Helpman, Elhanan. International Economics, Economic Growth, Political Economy
Ibragimov, Rustam. Econometrics, Applied Econometrics, Financial Economics, Economic Theory, Statistics and Probability Theory
Imbens, Guido. Econometrics
Jorgenson, Dale. Econometrics
Katz, Lawrence. Labor Economics, Applied Econometrics, Macroeconomics
Kremer, Michael. Development Economics
Laibson, David. Macroeconomics (particularly Consumption and Savings), Intertemporal Choice, Psychology, Experimental Economics
Mankiw, N. Gregory. Macroeconomics
Marglin, Stephen. Theory, History, Development and Methodology
Medoff, James. Labor Economics
Melitz, Marc. International Trade, Investment
Mobius, Markus. Applied Theory
Moreira, Marcelo. Econometrics, Applied Econometrics, Labor Economics
Mortimer, Julie. Industrial Organization, Applied Econometrics, Microeconomics
Mullainathan, Sendhil. Psychology and Economics, Poverty, Finance
Pakes, Ariel. Industrial Organization, Econometrics-
Perkins, Dwight. Economic Development, especially the Development and History of the Economies of East and Southeast Asia
Rogoff, Kenneth. International Finance
Roth, Alvin. Game Theory as a part of Empirical Economics, Experimental Economics Theory
Schuendeln, Matthias. Development Economics, Industrial Organization
Sen, Amartya. Economics, Philosophy, Decision- Theory
Shleifer, Andrei. Applied Theory, Corporate Finance, Economic Transition
Stein, Jeremy. Corporate Finance, Behavioral Finance, Money and Banking
Stock, James. Macroeconomic Forecasting, Monetary Policy, Construction and Use of
Leading and Coincident Economic Indicators
Summers, Lawrence H. Macroeconomics, International Policy, Finance, Public Finance, Labor
Tsyvinski, Aleh. Macroeconomics, Public Economics
Weitzman, Martin. Microeconomic Theory, Environmental Economics
Williamson, Jeffrey. Economic History, Development