MA Economics Entrance: Delhi School of Economics
Firstly, the paper has two options. Candidates need to specify at the time of filling the form which option they would be attempting in the paper. You need to attempt either of the two and NOT both.
- Part B (Maths): Starting with Part B first. Frankly, never having seen its paper, we only have limited knowledge of the same. This is for people who have done Bachelors in Mathematics. It contains theoretical (fairly advanced) question relating to Functions, Matrices, Metric Spaces, Real Analysis etc etc. (This is not a comprehensive list of what all is covered). This section itself contains two sections. One section is for Objective type questions and the other is descriptive type (there is usually choice given for the descriptive type questions). There is negative marking for the objective type questions section.
People should not opt for the mathematics part until and unless they are very confident on theoretical Maths. Even people who have done engineering usually attempt the economics part.
- Part A (Economics): This option is recommended for people from Economics, Statistics, Engineering and others fields. The subjects that students are expected to be well versed with are: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Statistics (and some Econometrics which came by surprise in the last 2009-10 paper) and Mathematics. Although there is no subject-wise allocation for marks, but past trends show that all the four subjects get equal weight age in the paper.
This part contains two sections both containing Objective type questions from all subjects:
- Twenty questions of 1mark each (20marks)
- Forty questions of 2marks each (80marks)
There is negative marking of 1/3marks for the 1mark questions and 2/3marks for 2marks questions.
Since all the questions are objective type, the options that are given in the exam are fairly well researched. Teachers are aware of the common mistakes that students commit and therefore, if you commit a mistake in a question, chances are that the wrong option will be present among the four options. There is very little scope for answering by elimination.
Overall, it is not a very lengthy paper. If students allot time judiciously, then there is enough time to attempt all questions easily.
One mark questions do not take that much time but as mentioned above the options are fairly tricky and until and unless you are crystal clear with your concepts, you are bound to make mistakes. Two-markers are lengthy, might require more time. Models generally will have few two-markers to be attempted with them testing different aspects of the same.
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” holds true for this exam in particular because students think they know some question, attempt it wrong and because of the negative marking lose a lot of marks. So, guess work is absolutely not encouraged.
A note on notations: Probably the thing that will scare you if you have a first look at the entrance paper is the extensive use of symbols. Most students from non-maths background are not well versed with the meaning of these symbols. Some common ones are: ?, ?, ?, ? etc. Such mathematical notation is fairly easy once you know it but can pose problems if you don’t know it. They are extensively used in Microeconomics and Mathematics questions.
Mathematics:
Probably the most scariest and feared section in the paper. The primary references for the same are Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics by A. Chiang and Further Mathematics for Economic Analysis by Sydsaeter and Hammond. Students need to be well versed with functions, calculus, logic etc. (Integration and trigonometry can be de-emphasized). Frankly, I don’t think any amount of hard-work can assure that you will be able to attempt the questions that come in the entrance. So, if you are not strong in Maths, recommendation would be that you focus on Micro, Macro and Stats instead.
However, differentiation and differential calculus are extensively used in Macroeconomics and if you are clear with those concepts that 70-80% of your Macro questions are done automatically! (more on this has been covered in the Macroeconomics section) of this post.
Statistics and Econometrics:
Go through DU BA Economics syllabus for Statistics and follow up all the readings. You can refer to Mathematical Statistics by SC Gupta and VK Kapoor for the probability section. For Econometrics, you may refer to Essentials of Econometrics by Gujarati, first 11 chapters. Last year, there were 3-4 questions from Econometrics. So, if you do not wish to take chances, you may decide to do it as well.
Macroeconomics:
First of all, get hold of DU syllabus of Macroeconomics 2nd year and go through all the readings referred. This shall form the basis of the questions asked in the entrance. The entrance will surely have a set of questions on a macroeconomic model. For e.g., the most elementary question can be giving demand and supply sides of the economy in goods and money market respectively and finding the equilibrium output level and rate of interest. This can be supplemented by a question on what will happen if there is an exogenous increase in investment. The basic point to grasp is that one has to be very clear with the concepts because it is then only that you can solve it in mathematical framework. Get hold of Macroeconomics by William Branson. This book deals the subject in the way asked in DSE entrance. Since you will have 4-5 questions linked to the same model, it is necessary that you get the first one right or else it will spill over to all the other questions and hence the negative marking. While solving the question in the entrance, do it on a fresh page (the extra sheet at the back) and do it very cautiously. DSE professors know where students tend to make mistakes and it is highly likely that the wrong answer that you might be getting is there in one of the options! And as already mentioned, negative marking can ruin your chances to clear the entrance.
Besides having clear concepts, you will also be required to have good mathematical skills, essentially involving differentiation. Differentiation makes solving these models a lot easier and direct. You will be able to appreciate this when you try out the past year papers. Again, solving the past year question papers is extremely important here. The concepts involved are very much similar to that studied in DU UG but the application part is very different. What you might have studied at UG level is necessary but not at all sufficient to solve the questions asked in Macroeconomics section of DSE entrance.
For the one markers, you should know about different curves in Keynesian and Classical Economics. Also, be clear with Solow model. Questions in Macroeconomics section are quite scoring. So spend good time over getting the concepts right and then applying them in solving the models given in the past years.
Books to be referred:
- Macroeconomics by Dornbusch and Fisher
- Macroeconomic Theory and Policy by William Branson
- Macroeconomics, Schaum Series (little elementary)
- Macroeconomics by Oliver Blanchard
- Macroeconomics by Mankiw
You may go through these books and decide for yourself which one is good for which topic. Schaum series Macroeconomics is a little elementary and if you are content with the other books then you may skip this one.
Microeconomics
Again, quite a scoring section if you have the concepts right. Start with Intermediate Microeconomics (7th edition) by Hal Varian and complement it by doing exercises from Varian Workbook. Both are necessary to get the concepts clear. Microeconomics section in DSE would not ask you to do simple maximization, infact the question might appear to be very simple to you but it will have certain relatively tougher concept being tested. Thus, most of the times, it will be asking you about complement, substitutes, quasilinear etc. preferences. Except chapter 11, 13, 17 in Intermediate Microeconomics all other chapters are to be done.
For market structure, follow chapters from Pindyck. We found them better explained there than in Varian. Make sure that you follow up these concepts by practicing questions in Workbook. You may also go through the following website and browse different topics in Microeconomics, their lecture notes and assignments.
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Economics/index.htm
If you are short on time, then just go through the solved assignments.
While doing questions in Varian workbook, you might find them easy as Varian has beautifully written it in a story format. Remember that DSE entrance will not ask you the question in the same format. It will put forth the framework and ask you the last part of question as given in the workbook. Thus, it is necessary that you constantly ask yourself why you are following the procedure outlined through different parts in a question in the workbook and where you are headed.
For the General Equilibrium part, again, the question will not have simple concave utility functions. You have to get hold of how to solve for substitutes, complements and quasilinear preferences. As in macroeconomics section, Geneq section has many questions built in the same framework. Practice them well from the workbook and the past years. Having clear concepts of Consumer theory is essential to get on with General Equilibrium and it is perceived to be the toughest section in DSE. However, if you have the fundas right, General Equilibrium becomes the most interesting section in Microeconomics.
Cut off: We think that the cut-off would usually be around 50.
By: Riju Bafna and Akshay Jain (Akshay is also pursuing Masters from DSE and can be contacted at www.akshayjain.com)
For any queries regarding DSE entrance (AND ONLY DSE entrance), kindly post your queries here. Make sure that your query is not already answered in this blog post. For queries in other entrances (JNU,ISI), put your comments in the respective blog entry.
Also refer to the comment by Shoumitro in this blog entry (Click here) . He is also pursuing Masters in Economics from DSE.
hey riju thanks for taking out time and writin all the tips u hav given ……
they sure r really helpful ……
wanted to ask u abt how much did u attempt in isi and d skul n ny idea as to how much was the dse cutoff last year ….
ISI: i believe the cut-off in maths n stats section could have been around 22-23/30. Actually, it depends on the difficulty level of the paper. If you see 2008 paper, this section was quite easy and hence the cut-off would have been higher. For Micro, Macro section, my suggestion would be target to attempt 80% of the questions.
DSE: I think the cut-off would have been atleast 50%, I am not sure. Let me figure it out and i shall let you know an approximate idea.
Cheers..! Much Awaited article is finally here……! Awesome article..!
I gona cum up vid queries for sure…!
Great Work Riju!! I read the post and m feeling all excited. Can I add a few comments?
MATHS: Do not take it for granted. U need to be well versed with the language of functions. Usually students are not very clear with the concepts functions but knowing functions properly helps a lot. To supplement this one could also learn various graphing techniques. Comes in very handy while solving a lot of questions.
What is important with maths is that, it’s knowledge is also important to the remaining parts of the paper. Essentially all of micro and much of the comparative static exercises in macro. So if you knw how handle total differentials and differentiation in general, it becomes easy.
Micro: Try looking at the following book: Micro Economic Theory : Extensions and Principles by Walter Nicholson. The book is not available in print in India but copies are thr in the Libraries of St. Stephen’s and SRCC for sure. The questions in this book are very good and help you build up on your theoretical knowledge.
Macro: I would strongly urge that apart from Dronbusch (6th edition, not the 9th plz. The standard of the book fell after the 6th edition) one should definitely look at relevant chapters from Mankiw’s Textbook.
Stats: Look at DeGroot. The initial chapters only. One of the main problems is that there aren’t many questions to practice for this section. The standard textbooks have either too easy questions or too few. SC Gupta is a guide and too shoddy. I don’t find that one gains from it. Level of problems are way below of what has been asked in the last two years. And if what has been asked is the beginning of a new trend then the questions in DeGroot should help a lot.
CAVEAT!! Do not over attempt in the entrance. Mark an answer only if you have solved the paper in pen and paper. Will do you a lot of good.
Thanks Shoumitro!! Have added a line in the blog entry itself.
hey thanks riju 4 the reply …… n again thanks for postin up the tips
Hi Riju,
Great work in this blog to start with.
Thanx for the tips on econometrics.
Regards,
Aparajita
Hi Riju,
Thanks a bunch for the detailed advice that you have provided here on the various entrances. It really gave some insight into how I should go about things.
I’m pursuing UG in Economics from DU. I wish to appear for the entrances in 2011.
Could you please tell if DSE gives any weightage to UG marks along with the entrance test (although it is exclusively the entance as per the website) ?
It so happened that a prof ,who is a DSE graduate told me so, but I wanted to reconfirm this somehow.
Another query I had is regarding the kind of placements and the job roles offered to students of the MA course with specialisation in world economy.Would you have a clue?
Thanks again for all your tips.
Hi Aditi. Even I heard something like this in UG days but I doubt if DSE entrance has any weightage on DU marks. I do not think it goes that ways.
MA in Economics with specialization in world economy is relatively more placement oriented course than the MA economics offered by SSS. Last year, I believe Watson an Wyatt had recruited from there. Let me check on this information and I shall update you soon.
hi.. what abt the scope of placements in MA economics offered by SSS. how many in numbers do they generally take every year in SSS…
as per the dse admission hand book it says that the admission to ma would be strictly based on merit and no student would be selected unless he/she obtains at least 40 in entrance
Hi Riju,
How is the book on Mathematics for Economics by Simon and Blume for practicing exercises on functions.Is it better than Chiang?
What is the title of the book on Statistics by DeGroots recommended by Shoumitro Chatterjee.
Aparajita
@Aparajita: Yes, you may follow this book. I personally liked Chiang but some people find S&B’s explanation better. You should choose between the two according to your preference. (There is a solution manual for Chiang that might be of help to you)
And the book is “Probability and Statistics” by Morris H De Groot, Mark J Schervish
@Archit: Placement in JNU has started picking up. This year, citibank had taken one from SIS and SSS. I am not sure of the net figures. As far as the number of seats in SSS, it is generally around 30. They have a second list as well.
Hi Riju,
Thanks for your prompt reply. I thought that DSE exams would be on now and the the reply would take a month or so, but was pleasantly suprised.
Any news on the placement scenario in SIS?
Waiting eagerly.
How is the Masters in Financial Economics offered by Madras School of Economics in Chennai? Any idea about its entrance? (An article on it would be most welcome and much awaited!!
)
Wouldn’t the 3rd year of UG and preparation for all the above entrances be too much load? Would dropping a year and then preparing be a sensible thing to do? Did you drop?
(I know it is a subjective thing, but wanted to know your opinion and experience on it.)
One last question: I read that you took coaching from Ecopoint. I came to know about it too and it seems good. Is the regular course good or the crash course?
@Aditi:
1. Put your query on SIS in that particular blog so that it can help others as well.
2. I have no idea about MSE.
3.I do not think it is too much of a load to prepare for entrances with 3rd year. Majority (by which I mean around 80%) of students at DSE are direct from UG. It is all about your will power and time management and one can surely pursue 3rd year and prepare for entrances together. Infact ISI and JNU entrance exams are held in between the 3rd year univ. exams of DU. I did not drop.
4. Crash course is meant only for those who have good grip over the concepts. I had joined Ecopoint after my 3rd year exams and by then I had already given ISI, ISI and IGIDR.
@Aditi:
1. Put your query on SIS in that particular blog so that it can help others as well.
2. I have no idea about MSE.
3.I do not think it is too much of a load to prepare for entrances with 3rd year. Majority (by which I mean around 80%) of students at DSE are direct from UG. It is all about your will power and time management and one can surely pursue 3rd year and prepare for entrances together. Infact ISI and JNU entrance exams are held in between the 3rd year univ. exams of DU. I did not drop.
4. Crash course is meant only for those who have good grip over the concepts. I had joined Ecopoint after my 3rd year exams and by then I had already given ISI, ISI and IGIDR.
Hello RIJU ,actully i am pursing my b.tech in University College of Engineering and i have completed my 1st yr.i was quite interested in taking up economics after 10th but i couldn’t but now i want to do MA ECONOMICS after my b.tech from DSE,JNU,IGIRD MUMBAI.So how should i go about this and wanted to prepare from my 2nd yr. Onward.pls suggest me some books considering that i din’t had economics in my 12th…. Thanks
@Soumyajit: You may start with “Principles of Economics” by Gregory Mankiw. After that, follow the references given in the different blog entries.
Hi Riju,
Which r the most important topics to be covered under Functions for DSE entrance exams.
cld u help me in dwnldg Degroot & schriver Statistics book from net. I am not being able to get hold of this book in my city.
Regards
@Aparajita: Cant really say what are the most important topics to be covered under functions for DSE. Besides the DU syllabus, I focussed on the maths taught at +2 level, graphing a function and knowing basic properties of all. You shall go through the past years and decide it for yourself.
hi, can u tell me how many seats are there in dse? in what is previous entrance cut off? thanks
hi..u have written about a photostat shop at DSE that provides previous year question papers. is there no other way to get them cuz i’m staying at kolkata. and thanks a lot for all the info..its great!
hey..i am a ba maths hons student.i just gave my second year exams/i manted to know if i can appear for dse entrance.shall i appear through part A or part B?i am from commerce backgroundso i no basic eco that v study in 11th and 12th standard.and keeping in mind my knowledge about maths and eco can you please suggest books ishud study from
@Apurva: Read the blog and follow the books suggested. See the question papers to decide which part you should give.
@Debika: Google about it. I think some websites have it.
@Ankit, Babu: Read the blog and then comment.
Hi Riju,
In the DSE prospectus it is written that a student after eligible for admission may choose to join DSE or any of the 10 du colleges. I wanted to know if this choice is made by the students on their own or they are allotted according to the rank in the entrance exam. And in case if it is allotted do we get our own college or can get any of the 10 colleges?
well, part b usually prepared by Sudhir Shah, I suggest people from Engineering to take Part B, it especially gives you an advantage if you want to go for PhD.
As SS loves, LA and RA (Linear Algebra and Real Analysis), Any good LA book like Insel, Spence or Hoffman Kunze will suffice.
For Real Analysis the questions are pretty rudimentary, Rudin is far enough.
Preparation time at most 2 – 3 weeks, pretty low when compared to time you need to spend for Option A.
Hi Riju,
First of all, your blog is really good. It has been very helpful. Thanks ! I am studying Eco(H) in DU and ive just completed 2nd year. I want to start studying for DSE entrance soon. I have made a list of all the books that you recommended and have started revising first year material. I want to know if taking coaching is a good idea, and from where? there are so many coaching centres. Will coaching be helpful or just a waste of time? I feel that coaching may help me to be regular with my preparation and might put things in perspective, as well as give me an idea about the level of competition.. But I am unable to make up my mind. Im very confused. Hope you can help me. Waiting for your reply eagerly. Thank You.
Bhavika
@Bhavika: Coaching for MA economics entrance would at max provide you with 0-15% of help. It is mostly about your own preparation and peer group. You may go to one or two, experience it yourself and take the decision. But do not think that coaching will take care of everything, that is a big illusion!
@Abhirupa: I am not aware of their online coaching classes. You may join it. If it does not help, it surely wont harm you. You will only gain something through it.
@Ram: My personal view is that even an engineering student shall take option A. The engineers I know had not studied LA and RA the way required in DSE entrance. 50% of the questions in option A are from stats and maths which an engineer shall be able to do. And further, if he/she is writing MA Economics entrance, he/she should be atleast aware of basics of economics to crack say even one-fourth of other questions.
@Harsh: It is no more like that. Everyone takes admission in DSE only. The rules have changed.
Well I am talking about students, who want to go for PhD, and non Econ students with less time to prepare for the test.
LA is the same you prepare for Option A, but with knowledge why you do that, ( I know every one knows cramers rule, but learning the proof behind will take no more than 10 mins), only problem is with Inner Product spaces and Spectral Theory, PartB wont test that deeply, so, it will at max. 4 days of work.
Real Analysis, you too study same for Option A, Limit, Derivative, Continuity, Intergrals ( I dont think Series of functions is necessary, but I am not sure), will be the same, but practicing some what harder problems, (like in Bartle and Sherbert) so theory from Rudin and problems from Barlte and Sherbert will suffice, which will take 10-15 days at max.
Thats all, you will clear the test, with hardly a month prep.
Remember do prepare stats to clear objective ones.
If you still left with time, go for Stats the books are as referred in the Hand Book.
hii riju…could u plz recommend a book for general equilibrium/pareto optimaliy..i’m having problems understanding the concept..
also i cant find the varian workbook in my city..any oder workbook tat i can work on??
@Ram: I know many Maths hons. people who cleared DSE through Option B
. People, please go through the papers and decide for yourself. It wont take ‘just a month’ but many more than that! If you are interested in PhD, you will have many avenues at DSE to build up your skills and understanding! Even I had done elementary LA and RA for DSE prep but I could not have cleared DSE through Option A!!
@ Saadia: Do all the questions from Varian Workbook and then you may follow up more questions on MIT’s opencourseware. There is no substitute for Varian Workbook. I will mail you the soft copy.
hey.. do you have the solution book for varian workbook?
Well I had enough development at DSE,
One thing dont be panic by looking at those jargon, even though you take LA, RA ( I dont know SS used that age old notes), Optimization, in first sem maths you still do algebra wrong. ( Check this with AB). You might remember (I dont know AB still in same mind set) AB calls LA as just a 3 day course. Well, RA plays very important role in PhD admissions check with Rakesh ( I doubt you know him) or Anirban (Is he still carrying coffee cup??), so clearing Option B adds some more weight in the application.
@Harsh: You can get Varian work book solutions some where (HE is me actually) in http://alexmthomas.wordpress.com/ma-economics/
@Ram: My only argument is that clearing through Option B is easier. I know engineers who did it through option B. Clearing option B adding weightage to PhD application comes only when you actually clear it!! That is my precise argument! If one has good hold on LA & RA, go ahead but the point is that not many people are. It is not at all some one month affair (it might be for you but people differ in their abilities and talent). And I am sorry I did not get “HE is me actually”. Anyway, thanks for sharing your views.
@Harsh: I have mailed it to you.
Yes, I agree, but you missed my point, if you decide to take DSE test in late Feb. taking Option B might be easier than pushing Macro and Micro hard. ( Actually I did this, I am Engineer, and suddenly decided to go for DSE in late Jan, getting books itself took more than a month, but cleared test with out much knowledge of stats), so instead taking Option B might be easier.
I dont agree with you, if you can give me 6-7hrs of your time daily, I can make you to score atleast 60 in Option B in the test this year itself.
But I dont know why ever one tries to push Maths is Panic at DSE, and by referring odd material. ( Especially notes on continuity by SS is for an Advanced Pure Maths students who already excelled in Topo, RA, LA and Functional analysis).
hey riju..ahana here frm KMc eco h,3rd yr…..ur blog is rilly gr8….hey can u tell me from where can i gt answers of Dskul papers for the yr 2001-03…coz thats nt available in the photocopy shop….
@Ahana: Nice to see you here. I do not think there is any answer key for those papers. You should check the answers with your friends. I think I have the solved ones with me. You can post the questions that you are doubtful about, I will try to help.
@Ram: Ok! My point is that people having studied Maths for 3 years are not able to do it for whatever reasons, one month appears to me as a joke. But anyway, I appreciate you sharing your views. Thanks!
Hi,
Thanks for sharing ur views!!!
Is there any good book for practice of MCQs in Economics??
Thanks Riju.. i got the solution book.
@ram: even i did not get “HE is me actually”
@ahana: hiii
@Riju, later I founf that I might be confusing, I took Option A only. ( But later I thought, i.e., when got enough acquaintance with maths (not at DSE ofcourse), option B would be better choice)
hi,
I was thinking of attempting the D school entrance exam this year and am very rusted in economics, maths and stats. I completed my mba 5 years back. do you know of any place or anyone who can offer tutions to help me prepare for this entrance. I live in delhi.
Thanks,
Ziba
@Ziba: There is no sweet pill for DSE entrance! Pick up the books and start preparing. It is all your effort.
Thanks Riju. I am willing to give it everything and have been studying. I just realize I need help! While institutes like ecopoint sound promising, I am not sure if it makes a difference enough to justify the cost (20k). Since you have been there done that would you recommend it, in addition to my own preparation
Hi Riju..your blog is just great..i mean i actually got a lot of my queries cleared only on reading it..there is one thing i wanted to ask..i am a 2nd year student going into 3rd year.(D.U economics (H)) and i am not very good at maths in fact I sometimes fear it too but I am determined to prepare for DSE,so could you suggest me some tips that I should regularly follow all through out this year,keeping in mind i am weak in it..eagerly waiting for your reply..
rumita
also riju someone has asked you about the number of seats in dse and i cannot seem to find the answer to that in your blogs,as i wanted to know of the same..so could you please let me know..thank you
@ Riju: I do not have the time to finish entire Varian(is it necessary?). Could you please comment on which chapters to give priority to?
Also it would be really helpful if you could mail me the varian workbook too.
Stats: I read that you recommend going through the DU syllabus for stats but could you please mention specific books/sources where I could study from?
Thanks a lot.
Hi Riju
Great blog, especially with respect to the amount of information about MA Economics entrance preparations.
Would like to know if dynamic analysis ( i.e. continuous time and discrete time, simulataneous differnce/differntial eqns, optimal control) should be studied for the maths section of the DSE entrance test(option A)?
I tried looking at the DU BA economics syllabus, but the syllabus for the “Mathematics for Economists” paper wasn’t there on the link posted (it has some comments regarding future direction of the course). Also tried checking previous years papers for the same, but since ive only 2 (2007 and 2009) cant really infer too much.
Could you please send the Varian book to me? I cant get a copy of it in Kochin. Im using Pindyck and Rubinfeld at the moment. But everyone here seems to be emphasizing on Varian a lot. Would really like to get a feel for the questions in it.
Thanks in advance.
Was wondering if you are aware of other economics students/profs at DSE/ISI(or any other indian institution) who blog on economic theory or on the Indian economy? Wish Indian profs would get a little more involved on the blogosphere.
[...] RijuBafna.com » Blog Archive » MA Economics Entrance: Delhi School … [...]
hi riju. the DU syllabus for UG eco(H) has the following 12 courses
Course 01: Principles of Economics
Course 02: Mathematical Methods for Economics
Course 03: Statistical Methods in Economics
Course 04: Microeconomics
Course 05: Macroeconomics
Course 06: Economic History of India 1857-1947
Course 07: India’s Economic Development since 1947
Course 08: Economy, State and Society
Course 09: Development Theory and Experience
Course 10: Indian Agriculture and Industry
Course 11: Money and Financial Markets
Course 12: Public Economics
which of these do we have to refer to for isi and dse entrances?
if i’m looking up the syllabus in course 3 and course 5, then is all that is mentioned therein included in these entrances?pls elaborate.
thanks.
@Debika: course 01 to 05 and Introductory Econometrics for DSE. For ISI, 01-05. This is not exhaustive. Read the blog for further details.
Hi Riju,
Can you give me a list of all the books i need to study for the portion on Statistics for DSE entrance. From my first year material, i have ;
1) Schaum’s outline of theory and problems of statistics by Spiegel
2) Applied statistics for economists by P.H. Karmel and M.Polasek
3) Fundamentals of statistics by S.C Gupta
Are there any other books that i should refer to?
Thanks
@Bhavika: Refer to the blog.
Thanks for ur suggestion.As u said i completed “princ. of economics-markin” and started solving”fundamental method of math economics-chaing” a really nice book.The maths part is preety easy but economics part is going over my head.what should i do ,should i start with micro and macro and then math or some thing else pls suggest.
Hi,
This is not related yo DSE..But i need ur guidance if u can !!
I got Interview call for IGIDR,Mumbai.
Do u have any idea abt what do they ask in interview? n How to go about d preparation for d same??
Thanks!!
@Rumita: If you are not confident with maths, focus on micro, macro, stats which will cover 75% of the syllabus. You need 50% to clear DSE so get better hold of the concepts that you are comfortable with. But be sure that you are fine with mathematical tools used in micro and macro. You may refer to books by Chiang and also Simon and Blume for mathematics. Last year, DSE took 170 students in total
@Saumyajit: Study micro and macro first.
thank you so much riju.
hi riju,
manmeet this side.
Im a B.COM(HS) student just given my 3rd year exams and i want to do M.A(ECO) from DSE.
Im droping my one year for the preparation of the same.
Can you suggest me how should I initial.Really need your help.
Reply as early as possilbe.
WITH REGARDS,
Manmeet Singh Ajmani
Thanks a lot…:-)
@Manmeet: Read the blog and past comments
@Ajay: You are eligible for DSE and JNU SSS. Not JNU SIS. Read the respective brochures for knowing the age-limit
@Rahul: I do not think Econ profs would know about eng! It will be all economics based with may be higher focus on the maths and stats you have done in engineering
Hi Riju,
Thanks for article.I am an engineer passed out in 2009,right now workin..I have never studied ECO earlier bt always wanted to.Jus few day ago I started my prepration,I started wit Macroeconomics by Mankiw…Finding it very interestin..But I jus wanted to know is it necessary to read 5 books on Macroeconomics..Or one book is sufficient.??If one book is sufficient thn which ! book i shud finish first in each subject..I cnt study more thn 4-5hrs a day..is it sufficient?? Since i hv no previous experiance of ECO hw shud I go abt my prepration…Please reply in advance..N if possibl plz mail me ur No…Thanks for all the help in advance..N thanks in advance….
Hey Riju,
you doing an awesome work. keep it up !
Thanks
Hello, I am pursuing Honours in Economics and i am in the second year presently,could you please give me an idea as to when should one start preparing for DSE,JNU entrance examinations,is it sometime during the 2nd year or right from the begining of the final year?
@Surajana: From the end of second year would be optimal. Even from the starting of third year is fine. All depends on your abilities. If you make it earlier, it helps in getting the right frame of mind.
thank you so much for a prompt reply,i am all eager to start as fast as possible,i even started going through some of the previous years’ entrance papers but finding it very difficult to answer them presently,2nd year just started for me,but I have covered most of microeconomics,though we have just started macro and general equilibrium,should i start off with +2 mathematics and stats presently,and then take up questions on economics by the end of 2nd year?what do you suggest?
Thanks a ton for all the help you are providing. If the question is not too personal, may I know where you completed your Bachelors degree from? As for me, I am a final year student of economics at Gujarat University. I strongly desire to pursue my Masters from DSE. My only worry is whether self study will be enough. Should i take the online course offered by ecopoint?
@Surajana: Take it easy. Start from the end of your second year. Concentrate on second year as of now.
@Dijo: I did my grad from KMC, DU. Yes, you can surely do it through self study. It will be suggested that you guys form some group to prepare for DSE entrance. Also give other economics entrances. You can surely take the online course but do not divert from the broad syllabus.
i thought so,second year itself is quite hard to tackle but thank you so much for the write up on DSE,JNU and ISI entrances…the blog was extremely helpful.
hi riju…..
i just completed my 2nd yr in du ………
just wanted to ask in which fields can one go if he goes for MA from DSE…..
really wanted to do something in economics……..but cant decide wat
pls help me out
thank u
hi riju,
sory for buzzing again.
I failed 2 crack dse entrance dis time and thinking of dropping my one year for the preparation of the same.
I read your blog about mathematics but there still some confusion.I want to ask about linear algebra and real analysis, “does dse entrance have some of the ques regarding LAC or RA?”
Mathematics for economics by hammond or chang is enuf for the preparation regarding maths portion as given in ur blog?
hi riju, rite now for mathematics i am following..1> BASIC STISTCS BY NAGAR AND DAS
2> FREUND…..MATHE STATISTICS ANS APPLICATION WILL THIS BE ENOUGH OR I NEED TO FOCUS ON MORE BOOKS..
Hi,
Firstly I really want to appreciate the efforts you have been putting to keep this website going. It really helps.. Thanks!!
I am currently pursuing Actuarial Sciences and I have 5 actuarial exams. I’m working with a actuarial firm for the past 2 years but lately I realized that I’m more keen to get into the education sector. I am a B.Sc Stats graduate from Hindu. I’m keen on giving the MA Eco entrances from the 3 institutes mentioned in your website DSE, ISI and JNU. I just want to know which institute would be the best if I want to get into teaching (NET/UGC) after my MA?
Thanks..
@Pronobesh: Please refer to the blog for more books.
@Nandini: DSE and JNU
@Manmeet: DSE maths section is usually unpredictable. Yes, it has questions on LA and RA. And nothing is enough in terms of which books to follow. I have just given a list of recommended books. You can easily expect to get questions outside the books I have recommended.
@Abhinav: Apart from academics and teaching, one can go in Banking and Finance sector (analytics), Marketing and Consultancies.
DSE/ISI xamz r more aaplication/problem based ……….
and most of thebooks mentioned in this forum and many other blogs r standard books….
ii would lik 2 knw if derz any work books other than varian available ???
plzzz helppp………………..
hii riju,
can u plz tell me about eligibility in isi and igidr .I had completed my graduation as BBA.and i fo not had maths at +2 level.
plz reply as soon as possible.
Regards,
Surabhi.
@Philip: Read the blog.
@Surabhi: Read the prospectus of respective institution on their website.
hi riju,
which book is gud for macro for basics:Brason or Mankiw.
and for stats ,plz reply as soon as possible
@Surabhi: Both are good. Refer to the blog
Hii riju,
I how is online coaching of ecopoint for economic entrance exams?
and how is the crash course offer by other institutes.
HI Riju, I am a final year engineering student,I wanted to know how to prepare for the DSE entrance examination?
@Aditya: Read the previous comments.
Hey Riju!I really appreciate you taking up the effort and clearing our doubts.
I am pursuing my B.Sc Mathematics hons from Ramjas College,2nd year.My question to you is,even if I clear the entrance examination,wouldn’t a student from a pure maths background have difficulty in pursuing MA in Economics?I mean,wont it be like impossible for me to cover up the economic theory part that the guys from BA Economics hons would be well versed with?And yeah,I have already read the blog
.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance.
@Rohit: It will be a bit difficult but manageable. There are people in our class from mathematics background (and engineers) Professors know that many people who take up MA Economics are from non-economics background so they teach accordingly.
@Surabhi: I have no idea about online coaching from ecopoint or any other institute.
can any one clearify my doubt about the criteria of marks in graduation for dse entrance exam. i am confused about the second para of the information provided in the prospectus.
I hve completed my engineering in 2010 can I prepare for eco h entrance
dse takes engineers or not??
@Piyush: What is the confusion?
@Diksha: DSE takes engineers.
hello riju,
Actually i dont have queries but really wanted to know that are there students in your batch from commerce background like bba or b.com(hs)?
if yes,can u plz plz send their contact no.’s or email id’s as their experience will really help me in cracking the dse entrance exam.
And one more request can u plz send ur e.mail id so that i wont bring these stupid queries at your blog?
My id is manmeet.ajmani@yahoo.com
Sorry for ur inconvenience,but it will really help me.
hi riju,i am anand.i am currently a second year degree student.i want to take pg from dse on economics.could u tell me what books i must refer to?
nice blog!
i am a bba final year student. i’ve had micro, macro and +2 maths as semester subjects. i like both eco and maths and hve scored well, but we have’nt done any of these subjects intensively.
my question is that- do i need to cover anything besides the basics in eco and maths or is an overview of all the basic theories (keynesian, NIA, liq. pef., consumption, basic micro) enuf.
thanx in advance!
oh! and i frgot 2 ask – is the MA eco course (with specialization in finance) better or the MBA – mib one
content, faculty and placement wise.
@anand: refer to blog
@madhur: that is a personal choice depending on your abilities. Mostly do it with third year.
@shipra: It is quite an intensive entrance. Superficial knowledge is not sufficient to clear the entrance. To know difference about MBA and MA, you should see the subjects offered in both the courses. Both are totally different courses. There is no Ma Economics with specialization in finance.
I think you just forgot to reply on my comment posted on 25th august’10.
N one more thing: Reading of micro and macro of 2nd yr eco h are good for the preparation instead of going for a particular book?
Eagerly waiting for your reply.
manmeet!