JNU SSS or IGIDR? ( for those undecided between further studies and placement)

[chitinku]

I don't know, why people are saying jnu sis is better but as far I know from the feedback of two seniors who studied from sis, they are telling jnu sss is main course having better prospects for placement.  s

[amalgamateking]

1st Paragraph,

Maybe it wasn't clear enough (perhaps I forgot to put a disclaimer), but these are purely my opinions on the matter. Anything I write is purely my view on it, nothing more, nothing less. The sources I get these information from are people I know, who are studying there currently. I have been sincere in my attempts to generate the best possible information set for myself (so that I, myself, can decide what I want) So the only point of concern may be, that I am peddling incorrect information, even though I myself know the true version and I am essentially keeping that for myself. There is very little I can do to convince you that this is not the case, other than perhaps saying it is not.

I didn't speak lowly of SSS at all. I have been pretty particular about stating that the course is "different". And it is. Theories and concepts taught, specifically in SSS, are completely Heterodox (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodox_economics, please check the link to see what it is).
It may be the best thing for someone. It is not my cup of tea though. A statement I made earlier (which is perhaps one that I should have made a little differently) is that the course at JNU SSS is strictly dominated. What I meant is that 'I feel, Marxism isn't a good substitute for Capitalism'. You may not agree with me on this, but I still retain the right to feel this way.

I would like to make two points regarding the course.

1. The program has its strengths. The Political Economy side is a clear strength. So are the Development Economics modules. Also the papers that deal with Indian Economic issues are clearly the best ones in the whole nation, without any doubt. Micro and Macro cover usually the same things everywhere, so they aren't the best papers to judge a particular course on. Similarly, the books being asked to follow aren't a sufficient indicator of the rigor. Finally, the books you mentioned are effectively advanced Undergraduate textbooks. They are necessary but clearly not sufficient at the Graduate level. You may disagree, but that is okay.

2. The point I was trying to make earlier is that most courses that have "Mathematics" written in their  names, are taught by visiting faculty (this is a fact if you go by the 2014-15 academic year. I don't know about other years), usually from IIT Delhi. If you want actual verification, then please feel free to drop an email. I will get you in touch with someone who started SSS in 2014, and has told me this.


Paragraph 2,

Okay, I guess? I don't really get your point. Infrastructure in my mind, doesn't matter much.

[anadi]

Well, this argument has clearly brought forth some new ( and good) points. Carry on, guys. It's helping! :p

[rambo]

Yes, your reply appears much clearer now. No need for the disclaimer, but a reply with a few 'I thinks' would do I believe. And coming to the main point, I agree with you that textbooks aren't really a good indicator of the type of stuff taught in an institute. (And I do know what heterodox economics means, by the way.) But I doubt the economics will be so heterodox that a student will be simply alienated from the neoclassical framework. That is, there will be a leftist bias to what they teach (and possibly less rigorous), but I doubt the course will be completely at odds with whatever is taught in D school or ISI or IGIDR. And regarding infrastructure, I'm basically agreeing with you, and just adding one more point that DU has far inferior infra as compared to JNU (at least that's what I realized in the last three years here sipping coffee and eating dosas in these two places). And regarding textbooks, whether they are undergraduate or graduate level is not really my concern, considering that two out of the three books in Micro in JNU SSS and DSE are the same (Mas-Collel, Whinston and Green; and Reny and Jehle). It's a similar case with respect to Mathematical Methods of Economics (R Sundaram). I'm sure I'll find a similar concurrence with other topics. And finally, if indeed, it's visiting faculty from IIT D that comes to teach Math and Stat, I guess that's not really a bad thing. I may be wrong here but Mathematical Methods is to be taught by Sujoy Chakrabarti, who has a good name in Economics.

[amalgamateking]

Again, textbooks listed as reference mean very little. MWG and Jehle&Reny are listed as main references in all Graduate Economics courses across the world. The content taught from the books and the style of teaching makes the difference. Also, these two you mention now along with Sundaram are all advanced books, possible the most rigorous a student will be able to take at this level. I was talking earlier about specifically the two you had mentioned (MicroAnalysis by Varian, and Optimization by Dixit).

Umm, not necessarily. I can't say how the logistics work out at JNU, but our Department (in Undergrad) had multiple visiting faculty from ISI K as well as IIM C. There was a noticeable difference in the amount of time they could give us to discuss our doubts/problems in their courses, as compared to the permanent faculty in the Department.