Data and Code for: Info.Econ: Increasing Diversity among Economics Majors

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Andrea Chambers, Michigan State University; Carey Elder, Michigan State University; Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Michigan State University; Steven Haider, Michigan State University; Scott Imberman, Michigan State University

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
AEAPPUnpublishedAppendix.pdf application/pdf 1.9 MB 04/12/2021 10:33:AM
README-v2.pdf application/pdf 281.9 KB 04/12/2021 10:33:AM
analysis_program_20210101.do text/x-stata-syntax 12.6 KB 04/12/2021 10:33:AM

Project Citation: 

Chambers, Andrea, Elder, Carey, Dickert-Conlin, Stacy, Haider, Steven, and Imberman, Scott. Data and Code for: Info.Econ: Increasing Diversity among Economics Majors. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2021. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-05-10. https://doi.org/10.3886/E137481V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary Only 30 percent of senior majors in the top economics departments in the US were women in 1993 and this percentage increased to just 35 percent by 2017 (Lundberg and Sterns 2019), despite the fact that almost 60 percent of bachelor degrees were awarded to women in 2017.  Similarly, African Americans and Hispanics account for 5 and 11 percent, respectively, of bachelor degrees awarded in economics nationally.  Building on existing research (Bayer 2019; Frick et al. 2018; Li 2018), we consider whether an information campaign, which we branded “Info.Econ”, increases diversity in undergraduate economics courses.  To do so, we conduct a randomized control trial among undergraduate students in introductory economics classes at Michigan State University, where the share of women and underrepresented minority students are even lower than national averages.  Our first treatment is a series of short videos that provide information about what economics is, who studies economics, and what one can do with an economics degree, with each video featuring diverse MSU undergraduates, alumni, and faculty.  As a second arm of the treatment, we provide post-course information on the grade distributions in our introductory courses.  We find little impact of the interventions on average, but we find some evidence that first-generation students are more likely to say they plan to major in economics and enroll in additional economics courses from the video treatment. Estimates for URM on majoring are similar but imprecisely estimated.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms diversity in economics; college major; randomized control trial
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      A22 Economic Education and Teaching of Economics: Undergraduate
      I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1/2020 – 12/2020
Universe:  View help for Universe Students in introductory economics classes at Michigan State University.
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) administrative records data; survey data


Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2021-05-10]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.