Antoine Chapel, Dual Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics (Class of 2022)

I discovered economics as an academic discipline during my bachelor's degree at Sciences Po, on the Reims campus. The International Trade class taught by Thierry Mayer showed me how theoretical models could shed a light on economic phenomenons such as the globalisation of trade.

The master's in economics gave me a solid quantitative and computational foundation, as well as research skills I still use today. My cohort was remarkably diverse in terms of academic background: a minority of students were Sciences Po undergraduates, most students came from quantitative disciplines such as engineering or statistics. This made the learning environment very collaborative.

The econometrics class on causal methods taught by Clément de Chaisemartin and the Math + Econ + Code masterclass on Optimal Transport taught by Alfred Galichon were key milestones in my intellectual formation at Sciences Po. Although they approached econometric methods from very different angles, both classes equipped me with state-of-the-art tools. They allowed me to tackle substantive economic questions, such as the one I explored in my master's thesis on the assignment of teachers to secondary schools.

The master's thesis written at Sciences Po under the advice of Jean-Marc Robin and Olivier Tercieux was instrumental in shaping my research path: spending four months on a single question is not something students really ever do before their master's thesis, but I believe it is the only way to know if research is going to be enjoyable. My master's thesis introduced me to the economics of education, dynamic matching, and dynamic discrete choice models. It also led me to spend a year working as a research assistant on related education topics.

Pursuing a PhD is only justified if you can seriously envision an academic career, focused on research and teaching. After my master's, I had the chance to come back to the Reims campus as a teaching assistant for the “Microeconomics: Information, Design and Institutions” class taught by Jean-Marc Robin. Having enjoyed both the experience of research and that of teaching, a PhD was the natural next step. The research environment at Columbia University is exceptionally supportive, and nowhere outside a PhD program can one enjoy the luxury of spending five years exploring interesting issues in-depth.

My PhD thesis focuses on the theoretical and empirical analysis of online platforms. I have started working with Professor Yeon-Koo Che on market design challenges, such as the design of reservation systems in sectors like healthcare or the restaurant industry. We are also exploring a more empirical problem related to school choice platforms: how to recover the preferences of students from the ranking lists they submit on systems such as the French Parcoursup.

I would advise students considering a PhD to start doing research as early as possible. PhD programs are highly selective, and recruitment committees look for candidates who are likely to thrive in a research environment. Working as a research assistant for a faculty member is an excellent way to build skills, demonstrate potential, and discover whether spending hours on data analysis and proofs is something you really enjoy. This said, I would definitely encourage a student excited by research to go towards a PhD: it offers the rare promise of unlimited intellectual challenge.