Finance vs. Econ

[spot4992]

Could someone lay out the pros and cons of getting a PhD in finance over a PhD in econ?

[alanc]

In one program you study economics, in the other you study finance. As someone with degrees in both I assure you they have virtually nothing in common, not sure why people keep asking this question. Could you be successful in a mathematics grad program? If not, don't bother with econ. What are your interests? What are your goals? You need to think about those things and do some research in what you actually do in these fields.

[StatsG0d]

I wouldn't say that they have nothing in common. The first year PhD sequence in finance is almost identical of that to econ. Econ tends to open up more opportunities than finance, but finance tends to pay better than econ. Most would recommend getting a PhD in economics purely for the job opportunities associated with it. The consensus seems to be that a PhD in economics can be a professor of finance, but a PhD in finance cannot be a professor in economics.

[alanc]

I would be very curious if you could show me where a first year sequence in finance is even vaguely similar to a first year sequence in econ footballman. I've never seen such a thing. An econ student almost universally takes micro, macro, econometrics, and possible a methods course. A finance student usually has a micro requirement but that's usually business econ through the business school. They usually have a statistics requirement but that's never through the econ department.

[StatsG0d]

Below is from Boston College's finance and economics programs (finance first). I highlighted when courses had the same name. You were right, no macro (obviously) for finance, but they are very similar in my opinion. But perhaps "almost identical" was a stretch.

 

 

 

YEAR 1, FALL

Microeconomic Theory I Management of Financial Institutions Mathematics for Economists Statistics YEAR 1, SPRING Microeconomic Theory II Econometrics PhD Seminar in Corporate Finance Theory PhD Seminar in Asset Pricing Theory

 

 

 

ECON7720 Mathematics for Economists

This course consists of two modules: one on linear algebra and the other on economic dynamics. The linear algebra portion of the course covers fundamental material in vector spaces, metric spaces, linear equations and matrices, determinants, and linear algebra. This basic material finds application in numerous economics courses, including macro theory, micro theory, and econometrics, and will be assumed in the theoretical econometrics sequence. The economic dynamics portion of the course covers differential equations, difference equations, and various topics in dynamic optimization.

ECON7740 Microeconomic Theory I

This course covers basic consumer and producer theory and expected utility maximization. Also covered are special topics in consumer theory such as welfare change measures and revealed preference theory.

ECON7741 Microeconomic Theory II

This course comprises three modules. The first treats pure and applied aspects of general equilibrium theory. The second is an introduction to non-cooperative game theory. The third covers topics in information economics.

ECON7750 Macroeconomic Theory I

The first half of the course presents Keynesian and classical models, rational expectations and its implications for aggregate supply, and economic policy. The second half covers the Solow growth model, infinite horizon and overlapping generation models, the new growth theory, real business cycle theory, and traditional Keynesian theories of fluctuations.

ECON7751 Macroeconomic Theory II

This course is divided into three sections. Part I covers consumption and asset pricing. Part II introduces business-cycle theory with flexible prices. Part III covers monetary models, including business-cycle theory with nominal rigidities and the role of monetary policy.

ECON7770 Statistics

The first part of this course deals with topics in probability theory, including random variables, expectation, conditional distributions, and limit theorems. The second part covers topics in statistics, including maximum likelihood estimation, method of moments, hypothesis testing, and large sample inference.

ECON7772 Econometric Methods

This course provides an understanding of econometric theory that underlies common econometric models. The focus is on regression models and their many extensions. Topics include finite and asymptotic properties of estimators, consistency and limiting distributions, specification issues, heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, endogeneity and simultaneity, and nonlinear model estimators including maximum likelihood and generalized method of moments.

 

[TheUnusedSocks]

Agreed. PhD in economics would opein you up to government/NGO opportunities.

PhD in finance would likely open you up to far more opportunity in the private sector (think investment banking, venture capital, etc.)

[edgytal]

That depends on your interest because these two are entirely different fields. If you are good in Maths then phd in Econ would be easy to go for education. So, choose any of the two courses wisely based on your interests.