Fall 2007 - Good news, bad news

ale2007 nailed it. a PhD from Harvard or Stanford will 1) (definitely) impress friends, family and some people in academia who don't understand what it's about, and 2) (possibly) help you in getting job market talks to get your first job. These two effects are valid whether you're planning to look for a faculty position in the US, Canada, Italy or China.

However, something that is definitely NOT A DIRECT EFFECT is how such a brand will help you down the road, say when you're up for tenure or after that. Publications in "A" journals coupled with a degree from a good (but not top) university will beats no publications + Wharton PhD any day.

(a lengthy note for those who might not read other threads on this forum: I don't believe a single word about the need to have publications in your resume before entering into a PhD program. I've found that applicants (that was my case, anyway) tend to greatly underestimate the weight that admissions people place on graduate Economics and Math courses that were taken before applying to the PhD program. Work experience and letters of recommendation (unless they were written by someone well known in the field) don't have much of a weight. GPA, GMAT, and other indicators of educational background account for a lot. The SOP is somewhat important but the only good reason why you should spend any significant time on it is because it's the only thing about your profile that you can improve _right now_, as opposed to taking and then passing Stochastic Calculus courses.)