Masters in Applied Economics??

drj1485
Fri, 14 Mar 2014 00:53:26 +0000

This is older now, but in case anyone stumbles upon this like I did. A Masters in Economics is more about theory, and offers you the ability to take economics electives in fields that interest you, but it is still just theory-driven. As someone stated above, it might be too theoretical to be practical in the real world. However, an applied economics degree goes very in depth into how to conduct research and gather data to use in conjunction with economic models to analyze basically anything. It is much more specific and can be used in a lot of careers. Whoever said that an Economics degree is impractical in the business world is incorrect. An applied economics degree will give you the tools required to gain insight into the market at a very specific level. An MBA teaches you to be an administrator (manage people, organize, etc.), but doesn’t go nearly as in depth into how to read the market and understand the fundamentals of cost-benefit analysis like applied economics does. Banking, trade, consulting, etc. These are the guys that companies hire to consult with them on trends in the marketplace. Everyone and their dad has an MBA, so unless you go to a top-notch school, you aren’t likely to find a great paying job. Schools you’ve never heard of have MBA programs. Not many people have their Masters in Applied Economics.
the Masters degree in Applied Economics is a practitioners degree. A PhD in Economics is a research degree. You get your masters if you want to use economics and data in the real world as part of a career. You get your PhD if you want to teach and do research in an academic setting. So while I agree that a MA in economics may not be very useful in the world, the Applied Economics definitely is. It is less of an Economics degree and actually more of a degree in advanced statistical analysis. it simply uses economic models as the means of applying the statistics to the business world. Remember, business relies on economics principles. Supply? Demand? Revenue? Cost? Every heard of that stuff? Having someone on your staff that can look in depth at the market and your current business model and develop applications to maximize your profits and streamline your costs is very useful. If that’s what you want to be doing, an MBA is not the route. APPLIED economics means that it actually applies to things. It goes beyond the theory.
One other way to think about an MBA vs Applied Econ is that you can use economics to in multiple capacities. The only thing you are doing with an MBA is running a business. Besides, ask any business person and they will tell you that you don’t need a degree to successfully run a business. So wouldn’t you serve yourself better by having a degree that gives you the knowledge to fully understand the intricacies of a business? If you are a good businessman, you are so because you make good decisions. You make those decisions based on facts. You get those facts from the guys with the degrees in applied economics.