<p>*most advances in recent economics have been by statisticians and mathematcians, not “econ/finance majors.” *</p>
<p>That’s not true at all. Yes, many have highly analytic backgrounds such as degrees in mathematics, but most have econ degrees. You can have the best mathematics background you want, but if your intuition on how things work is fuzzy, you’ll make a poor economist. It is not just applied mathematics.</p>
<p>and ideally some courses in complex analysis and non-linear dynamics/chaos theory</p>
<p>You don’t necessarily need either of those, assuming you’re . Real and functional analysis would be good, yes. Complex is used much less.</p>
<p>[nauru]
What school offers economics without a substantial advanced math/stats requirement?</p>
<p>Remember, the higher education systems in Europe and the US are structured quite differently. Most colleges in the US are of the “liberal arts” variety, meaning students take many courses in various fields. Students here do not take 30-40 courses that are all more or less in the same field. Plus Americans are math-phobic. </p>
<p>I attended at top undergrad school here in the US and double majored in math and econ. I wasn’t even required to use calculus in any of my classes except one. The focus is often times more on the theory, and building the intuition about how to approach problems, etc… In the end, the basic math is little more than a tool.</p>
<p>Real analysis…get a leg up</p>
<p>Actually, RA is more or less the standard these days for any applicant to top programs. I think there are very few (maybe one or two) students in my class that have not had RA as an undergrad</p>