<p>Most undergrads at most schools have nothing to do with research. But in my view this eliminates the advantages of the top research programs for these students. The strengths of the very top programs is the chance to engage in research and see what high level work is like. If you’re just treating econ as a general liberal arts degree, one decent school (even well below the top 100) is almost as good as another. This is also why small, intense programs with lots of undergrads doing research (in any field) have a real edge over big state programs where a small percentage of students are interacting with top faculty.</p>
<p>So yes, it doesn’t matter for many students. But similarly, college choice doesn’t matter much for many students.</p>