Graduate level microeconomic theory courses focuses on an economy's market structure, demands for products, goods and services within a specific economic climate, cost and production of goods, problems within the natural resource industry, international trade and solutions for economic growth. Microeconomics focuses on individual aspects of an economy's structure and macroeconomics looks at the larger picture and considers how all of these individual aspects affect each other and the economy as a whole. These topics are studied in great depth at the Ph.D. level.
Math skills are essential to anyone who plans to perform the job of an economist. You must have quantitative skills in order to perform research, gather data and analyze it. An economist's mathematics training includes a strong background in statistics, and to obtain the Ph.D., you must do well in undergraduate- and graduate-level statistics courses. Statistical math requires students to design experiments, collect data, summarize information, draw conclusions and make predictions.
Econometrics uses the skills required in statistics but only focuses on math problems related to issues that actually took place or are currently taking place in the economy. The hypotheses, research, statistical methods, and predictions are all calculated using "real world data." For example, your econometrics professor may ask "What effect did Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 have on business owners and how does it compare to the effect that Obama's 2009 bailout package has on businessmen of the 21st century?" Real world data is necessary to perform research and to draw conclusions.
Economy workshops are research workshops that you take at the end of your Ph.D. program. They are generally available on a variety of topics and you choose which ones you want to complete. During your workshop, you will focus on one aspect of the economy. It can be the economy of a particular region or time in history. You may also take a workshop on how the political climate of a location affects that economy. Throughout your workshop, you will perform in-depth research , analyze a large amount of data and present your findings to your professor for a grade.