Program Summary

Purdue University's Department of Economics, located in the Krannert School of Management, offers a doctoral program that prepares economists for careers in research, teaching, or decision making in business and government. The graduate program in economics has a strong quantitative and analytical orientation. It is designed to provide a working knowledge of basic research skills and to broaden the students' understanding of economic institutions.

The Economics program offers a wide variety of potential specialty areas, including Macro/Monetary Economics, Industrial Organization, Experimental, Labor Economics, and International Economics. In addition, there is a new specialty area in Applied International Economics that involves working with the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP). To obtain additional information about the opportunities offered by the economics Ph.D. program, please visit the Economics Department web site.

Program of Study

Ph.D. students must complete a minimum of 52 credit hours in core courses, field sequences, and electives within the plan of study. You must complete 18 credit hours of core courses in economic theory (including a preliminary theory examination covering materials in four of these courses) and 10 credit hours of core courses in quantitative economics (including, if necessary, a preliminary quantitative examination). You are required to attend workshop seminars beginning in your second year. You must develop proficiency in three fields of specialization, and pass preliminary examinations covering the core courses and the major field of specialization. You also must write and successfully defend a dissertation of suitable scholarly content and scope that demonstrates ability to carry out a substantial independent research project.

Each field in economics requires passing a minimum of six credit hours of Ph.D. courses. For a field of specialization outside of economics, six hours of Ph.D. courses also are required. A written examination in one of the economics specialization fields that you designate as your major area of interest must be passed. Prior to taking this examination, and in any event before the end of the fifth semester, you will select the chair of the dissertation committee, who will oversee progress toward the successful completion of the dissertation.

Students typically take four years, including summer school sessions, to complete their Ph.D. studies in economics.

One of the field sequences is a methodological course sequence drawn from one of the following areas: Econometrics, Experimental Economics or Advanced Theory. A methodological sequence from outside of the department in an area such as Mathematics or Statistics may be substituted for the methodological sequence with the permission of the Economics Policy Committee. The primary field sequence must be in a field offered in the Economics Department that is not a methodological field. Such fields include, but are not limited to, Macro/Monetary Economics, Labor Economics, Industrial Organization, and International Economics. The secondary field sequence may come from within the Economics Department or from other departments. Field sequences taken outside of the Economics Department must have the prior approval of the Economics Policy Committee. A student's area examination must be taken in a field offered by the Economics Department.

Students also must write and successfully defend a dissertation of suitable scholarly content and scope that demonstrates ability to carry out a substantial independent research project.

Fields of Specialization within Economics

• Econometrics
• Economic Development
• Economics of Financial Markets
• Experimental Economics
• Industrial Organization
• Information Economics
• International Economics
• Labor Economics
• Macro-Monetary Economics

One of the three fields of specialization can be from a related area offered by the management faculty such as:

• Accounting
• Finance
• Management Information Systems
• Marketing
• Operations Management
• Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
• Quantitative Methods
• Strategic Management

Course-sequences are offered in each field of specialization. Students may also choose the secondary field of specialization from a related area outside of economics. The fields of specialization available from other areas include accounting, e-commerce, finance, management science, marketing, mathematics, operations management, statistics, strategic management, and organizational behavior and human resource management.

Faculty & Research Interests

Yong Bao finite sample econometrics, empirical finance, time series analysis

John M. Barron economics of information, macroeconomics, labor economics, contract theory

Mostafa Beshkar economic analysis of law, institutions of international trade (visitor)

Kelly Blanchard economics of information in labor markets and higher education

Gabriel Camera macroeconomics, monetary, experimental

Timothy N. Cason experimental markets, environmental regulation, antitrust

YiLi Chien macroeconomics, public finance and dynamic contracting

Robert Holland macroeconomics, monetary theory

David Hummels empirical international trade, focusing on the role of product differentiation in trade, and trade frictions

Mohitosh Kejriwal econometrics, international economics, applied macroeconomics

Gerald J. Lynch monetary theory and policy, international trade and finance

Stephen Martin competition policy, innovation, market integration, state aid to business, entrepreneurship (on sabbatical)

Sandra Maximiano organizational and personnel economics, experimental economics

Kevin Mumford public finance, labor economics, applied microeconomics, computational economics

Kanda Naknoi international economics and macroeconomics of international trade

William Novshek properties of oligopoly equilibrium and foundations of competition

John G. Pomery international economics, international trade theory, international business ethics, applied ethics, ethics teaching

Drew Saunders monetary economics, financial economics, and game theory

Ralph Siebert mergers, joint ventures, multi-product competition and product differentation, innovation, patenting and licensing, dynamics in markets and firms

Justin Tobias Journal of Applied Econometrics, Associate Editor of Economics of Education Review

John R. Umbeck microeconomics, law and economics, economics of information, privatecontracts, economics of crime and contract enforcement

Michael W. Watts economic education, microeconomics, labor economics, comparative economic systems, history of thought

Chong Xiang  international trade, industrial organization, microeconomics, international finance, applied econometrics

Recent Graduates

Curtis Price, 2008, Essays on Gender in Labor Markets
University of Southern Indiana

Jingjing Zhang, 2008, Essays on the Effect of Communication on Group Decision Making
McMaster University

Daniel Nguyen, 2008, Demand Uncertainty in International Trade
University of Copenhagen

Sirsha Chatterjee, 2008, Does Child Labor Create Comparative Advantage?
Ernst & Young

Georg Schaur, 2007, Essays on Macroeconomics and Economic Theory
University of Tennessee

Francesco Ruscitti, 2007, Essays on Firm Responses to Price Volatility and International Specialization
Yeshiva University

Adina Ardelean, 2007, Essays on Product Variety Gains from International Trade
Santa Clara University

For information concerning recent graduates, please refer to Alumni on the Economics Department Web Site