we are not economists, we are devo!
This is funny on so many levels -- especially when you consider that devo = short for "development."
You must be really stupid to think that all we do is math. This is what Phd students do in their first and second years.
We have the power to create crisis and make the world a worse place. Conversely, good policies and good luck probably led to the Great moderation. See PhD economists at Fred Mac, the Fed, US government, the European Central Bank, at the major European banks, at Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, etc. etc..
op here and i am ashamed that i even studied economics. at least i care about making the world a better place while you care about advanced linear algebra.
OP, you've got to realize that the economics you envision died a number of decades ago. Modern economics is mostly applied mathematics or statistics; someone who is adept at math is much more likely to be successful than someone who struggles with math but has "intuition" simply because the formalization of the field demands mathematical ability. Hell, if you weren't a strong math student in undergrad the chances of you even making it through your PhD fall close to zero.
op here and i am ashamed that i even studied economics. at least i care about making the world a better place while you care about advanced linear algebra.
am about to cross a bridge, I sure hope the guys constructing it cared about advanced linear algebra: http://www.raeng.org.uk/education/diploma/maths/pdf/exemplars_advanced/3_Frame.pdf