Implications of the Labor Market for Graduate Education in Economics

The Siegfried-Stock findings represent the first solid data available since COGEE collected its data in the late 1980s. This paper reviews the COGEE findings in light of the new evidence. On the whole, the news is good: new Ph.D.s awarded are up, economics remains one of the most highly-paid Ph.D. careers, and delays in finding employment are very short. A number of questions remain, however, that cannot be answered with the data at hand. These include the degree to which the demand for new Ph.D.s will be sustained, and the ways in which economics departments are serving those students not intending a research career.