- Know the directionA–B: check what it studies and how far it is from your background.
- See the evidenceC–D: inspect the sampled school and professor leads, then decide what to verify next.
- How to approachE–F: treat topics as hypotheses to verify, then choose one concrete next step.
What this direction actually studies
Confirm what this direction studies and with what methods — does it match what you imagined?
Economics studies how people and organizations make choices, and how resources are allocated through markets and institutions — turning intuition into testable findings with data and models. In recent years, empirical work built on causal inference has been central to policy evaluation, labor, and industrial organization.
A statistical approach for estimating, from real data, what affects what and by how much. Regression and causal inference confirm relationships with numbers rather than assumptions.
Typical useMeasuring policy effects, analyzing wage and price determinants, estimating causal effects via natural experiments.
Aliases / EnglishDID · IV · RDD · Econometrics
Formalizes situations where several actors decide while anticipating each other — price competition, bargaining, auctions, any 'choice with an opponent'.
Typical useAuction design, competitive strategy, mechanism analysis for bargaining and institutions.
Aliases / EnglishGame Theory · Mechanism Design
Has real people make choices in the lab or online to test whether theory holds, incorporating psychological factors to observe real decisions.
Typical useTesting behavioral-economics hypotheses, public-goods games, measuring risk and time preferences.
Aliases / EnglishExperimental Economics · Behavioral Economics
From where you are to this direction
What separates your background from this direction — a cost estimate, not a gate.
Before enrollment, a textbook plus a feel for statistics is enough. Specialized causal inference and models build up step by step through seminars and lectures after you start.
These are usually taught systematically after enrollment; you do not need to master them all now
- Study causal inference (DID / IV / RDD) systematically
- Graduate-level game theory and mechanism design courses
- Conventions for serious data analysis in Stata / R
School leads to verify
See which schools have verifiable research leads, then confirm them on official sources.
Derived from in-library professor affiliations for this direction; not a school ranking, personal-fit judgment, or admission-odds estimate.
Professor leads
3In-library professors, keywords, and recent projects are verifiable leads, not admission odds.
The school leads above are ranked by in-library professor count (a supply view); these candidate professors are chosen by fit to you. The two use different sampling, so candidates may not come from the schools above.
Candidate professor sample for this run：Upper-tier universities 2、Mid-tier universities 1；Other regions 3。
Centers on applied microeconometrics and policy evaluation of the labor market, overlapping strongly — in both method and interest — with minimum-wage and youth-employment topics. A natural first choice for an empirical proposal. (Sample)
More theoretical, focused on auction design and matching mechanism design. A strong fit if you prefer formal models over empirics, pairing well with game-theory topics. (Sample)
Specializes in lab-based preference measurement and behavioral economics. If you plan an experiment-led topic, you can get guidance from the design stage. (Sample)
Topic hypotheses to validate
Field-method evidenceThese are hypotheses to test; verify data, methods, and faculty research before using one in a proposal.
- Policy evaluation with causal inference12 professors with related projects
- Mechanism design for auction and matching markets8 professors with related projects
- Experimental decision-making in behavioral economics6 professors with related projects
- Empirical analysis of labor markets and wage inequality5 professors with related projects
Turn the judgment into a next step
One step you can take right now — don't stop at “noted.”
Save this direction intent first.
Save professors first, then compare their research and contact priority.