<p>What does it mean UChicago's Economics program is "conservative"? I know it is associated with the famous monetarist Milton Friedman, but what implications does this have?</p>
<p>The thing is, I intend to work for global economic development (eg. work at World Bank, IMF, etc.), especially to help eradicate poverty in third world countries and to create a healthy, stable global economy (with fewer deadly financial bubbles). Would UChicago be a good fit for me in terms of preparing me for fulfilling my aspirations?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any insight/thoughts.</p>
<p>Well first of all, honestly the ideology of the department, regardless of how conservative or liberal it happened to be, would not be a real concern for undergraduates…you’re learning the basic tools, and there’s not too much room for specific ideology to come into play. If you were going for a PhD in Economics, such concerns would be more valid.</p>
<p>But really, if you’re liberal, then you’re going to fit in perfectly at UChicago - I suspect this is true of all major universities now, but the student body here is very left-leaning. You will encounter all kinds of ideas here, but the majority of the people around you will be left-wing. There’s basically no such thing as Republicans on campus, AFAIK…a few percent, if that. “Conservatives” here tend to be more of the economically conservative, socially liberal type (libertarian), and even they are relatively few in number. I’m sure the % of such individuals is higher in the econ department, but I wouldn’t worry about feeling left out.</p>
<p>Anyway, econ is going to be approached as a science here, not a set of predetermined ideas. You’ll be given the mathematical tools to analyze the economy…but that doesn’t lead directly to policy. It’s going to be your judgments that translate economic science into what is “right and wrong.”</p>
<p>Thanks. Actually, I’d say I’m largely (but by no means totally) conservative, both economically and socially. I guess my concern really is whether this inclination of mine would be compatible with my career plan for global economic development…So this is more of a personal internal conflict (if there is indeed a conflict) ;p</p>
<p>current Econ student here, so I guess I’ll report on the program as I’ve seen it. Like others have said, the department is very much ‘econ-as-a-science’, positivist, neo-classical orthodoxy. Therefore, there isn’t a whole of research into what might be called more heterodox economics. That’s not really that important, unless you care about Marxist or </p>
<p>From what you describe of your interests, though, I wouldn’t be worried at all. I know we have a decent number of people working on monetary policy, and probably dev econ as well. The department isn’t really ‘politically’ conservative all that much; I’m working on research in climate change policy and many econ professors have been gladly involved.</p>
<p>@Rny2 Thanks a lot, that was very helpful! It’s good to hear I probably wouldn’t be frowned upon if I wanted to do a research on economic development in the Sahara Deserts lol</p>
<p>For an example of someone you might consider working for/with, take a look at Sam Kortum ([Web</a> Page for Samuel S. Kortum](<a href=“http://home.uchicago.edu/~kortum/]Web”>http://home.uchicago.edu/~kortum/)). Among his recent papers are: “Trade and Carbon Taxes”, “Global Rebalancing with Gravity: Measuring the Burden of Adjustment”, “Plants and Productivity in International Trade”, “Technology, Geography, and Trade”, etc.</p>
<p>Nancy Stokey has papers like “Giving Aid Effectively”, “Quantitative Model of the British Industrial Revolution”, “Are There Limits to Growth”, “Economics of Social Mobility”, “Free Trade, Factor Returns, and Factor Accumulation”.</p>
<p>Grace Tsiang (co-head of the undergrad econ program) does research in " human capital utilization and distribution in Malaysia and Taiwan" (I can’t seem to find her CV, so I can’t anything more specific). George Tolley also looks like he has some interesting stuff.</p>
<p>And of course, there’s Lucas and Murphy. These are just a couple people doing research that might be related to what you’re looking for. You can also find like-minded people in the Public Policy (Harris) School, the Booth Business school, and the Law School as well. The professor that I’m working for right now is actually the Law and Economics professor in the Law school, and we’re working with people in Computer Science and Geophysics, so there’s a lot of collaboration across the board.</p>
<p>As far as the reputation for ‘radical’ laissez-faire, rest assured that Becker or Fama do not have a monopoly on the economics department. If you’re working on developmental economics, no one’s going to raise an issue with your views on financial regulation policy. You’re much more likely to have a problem with all the wannabe investment bankers walking around than with the libertarians xD.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! I’m relieved to hear that UChicago is a place where diversity flourishes, and not some tavern for ultra-conservative laissez-faire fanatics, as stereotype has it ;p
I love UChicago and all my worries are cleared now! :D</p>