Top 10 MA or Top 50ish Phd?

[Pang]

Hi All- I applied to Phd schools in Economics and got into Columbia MA (got an alternated MA offer instead of Phd) and George Washington's Phd.  Both came with no-funding with the latter having possibilities of 2nd year aid in forms of TA and RA assist. My internal debating point is, should I take the MA and reapply for a better school or bite the GWU offer. 

It's been 3 years since I worked (after my B.S. and this year was my first attempt for Phd) and I am not sure if I want to go through this "uncertain" application process again... Other factors that I am considering are: 1) though most of the people change their topic of interest, my current interest is in applied microeconomics (industrial organization), which is not GWU's thing; 2) GWU did relatively well in placing graduates in IMF and World Bank so I might have some exit options; 3) Having MA diploma might increase getting a better offer during the next cycle but I am not sure to what extent; 4) Columbia itself has a good brand name but the program was around for only 2 years, and thus, I don't have enough benchmarks for the graduate outcomes. 

To me, one is not dominating the other, which makes me to wonder. What do you guys think?   

Thanks in advance! 

Edited March 16, 2016 by Pang