| Abstract: |
An objective ranking of economics departments worldwide in terms of graduate
education is derived. The central idea is that the value of a department is
the sum of the values of its PhD graduates, as reflected in the values of
their current employing departments. The scores are thus derived as solutions
to a linear system of simultaneous equations in the values. The sample
includes the top fifty-four departments, the composition of which is
determined endogenously using a criterion requiring a minimum of four
placements in the departments comprising the sample. Two other related
rankings are proposed, which place more emphasis on more recent faculty
recruitments. The results point to a very high concentration in the economics
PhD education market worldwide, confirming the dominance of the top U.S.
departments, in particular of Harvard and M.I.T. Nevertheless, a modest
de-concentration trend is under way. The rankings are in close agreement with
the 1994 National Research Council survey ranking based on the perceived
quality of PhD programs |