This isn’t due to Economics Phds. In my program (and in every other top program) we get full funding plus a stipend so we don’t need to go into debt. And comple

This isn’t due to Economics Phds. In my program (and in every other top program) we get full funding plus a stipend so we don’t need to go into debt. And completion rates are very high, out of a cohort of 20 usually only 1 or 2 a year can’t pass their prelims. The filter is at the admissions stage, which is nearly as bad as for the ivies. For comparison, at the University of Minnesota (a state school with a top 15 Econ department) we get 400 applications to the PhD program a year and admit 50, of which 20 are expected to actually come.