NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES

WHAT CAN UWE DO FOR ECONOMICS?

Tatyana AvilovaClaudia Goldin

Working Paper 24189http://www.nber.org/papers/w24189

NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH1050 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02138January 2018

The authors thank the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for funding the Undergraduate Women in Economics Challenge through grant no. G-2014-14504 and to Danny Goroff of the Sloan Foundation for encouraging Goldin to undertake the task of leading the project. Thanks also go to the members of the UWE advisory board (the “Board of Experts”) who helped the authors set up The UWE Challenge. For more information see http://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/UWE This RCT was registered in the American Economic Association Registry for randomized control trials under Trial Number AEARCTR-0000686. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

© 2018 by Tatyana Avilova and Claudia Goldin. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source.

What Can UWE Do for Economics?Tatyana Avilova and Claudia GoldinNBER Working Paper No. 24189January 2018JEL No. A0,A22,J16

ABSTRACT

Men outnumber women as undergraduate economics majors by three to one nationwide. Even at the best research universities and liberal arts colleges men outnumber women by two to one or more. The Undergraduate Women in Economics Challenge was begun in 2015 as an RCT with 20 treatment schools and at least 30 control schools to evaluate whether better course information, mentoring, encouragement, career counseling, and more relevant instructional content could move the needle. Although the RCT is still in the field, results from several within treatment-school randomized trials demonstrate that uncomplicated and inexpensive interventions can substantially increase the interest of women to major in economics.

Tatyana AvilovaColumbia Universitytva2114@columbia.edu

Claudia GoldinDepartment of Economics229 LittauerHarvard UniversityCambridge MA 02138and NBERcgoldin@harvard.edu

A randomized controlled trials registry entry is available at https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/686

12/31/17 -1-

Womendonotmajorineconomicstothesamedegreeasdomen.Infact,thefractionofmajorsineconomicswhoarefemaleislowerthaninchemistry,mathematicsandstatistics.Infieldsthatareevenmoremale-dominatedthaneconomics,suchasengineering,thefractionofmajorswhoarefemalehasincreasedinthepastdecade.Butthefractionineconomicshasnot.Ithasnotbudgedinthelast30years.TheUndergraduateWomeninEconomics(UWE)projectseekstouncoverwhywomendonotmajorineconomicstothesamedegreeasmenandwhatcanbedonetochangethat.

Wewillfirstdiscussthevariousfactsthatsparkedourprojectincludingnationaldataoneconomicsmajorsandadministrativedatafromoneundergraduateinstitution.ThedesignofourRCT,createdin2014/15andsentintothefieldin2015/16,willnextbediscussed.Wethenconsiderthevariousinitiativesthatourtreatedgroupofschoolsputintoeffectduringtheirtreatmentyear.Becauseourprojecttreatedagroupoffreshmenin2015/16,theresultsfromourstudywillnotbefullyknownuntil2020whenthatgroupissupposedtograduate.Wediscusstheresultsfromfieldexperimentsdonebytwoourtreatmentinstitutionsthathadmoreimmediateresults.

Wewouldlikeallundergraduatestohaveaccurateinformationregardingtheusefulnessofamajor.Manycollegeseniors,bothmaleandfemale,realizetoolateintheirstudiesthatstatistics,econometrics,andeconomicmodelingarehelpfultools.Studentsoftenthinkthateconomicsisonlyforthosewhowanttoworkinthefinancialandcorporatesectorsanddonotrealizethateconomicsisalsoforthosewithintellectual,policyandcareerinterestsinawiderangeoffields.

Mostknowthateconomicsisalucrativefield.Yetbothmaleandfemalefreshmenareinsufficientlyinformedaboutthecontentofeconomicsanditsusefulnessfortheirfuturecareers.Advicefromparents,relatives,andfriendsoftenemphasizestheimportanceofeconomicstofinanceandbankingcareers,andtherebydisproportionatelyencouragesmalestomajorineconomics.1Anemphasisonitsusefulnesstocareersindevelopmentandhealth,forexample,woulddomoretoattractwomenasmajorsrelativetomen.Oneofourconclusionsisthatbetterinformationcanhelpallundergraduatesrealizetheimportanceofeconomicstotheirfuturesandwouldincreasethefractionofwomenwhoentertheworkforcewell-groundedineconomicsasanempiricalandtheoreticalsubject.

AlthoughwedonothavethefinalresultsfromourRCT,wehaveformedagoodsenseofthereasonsforthedifferentialinterestineconomicsbetweenmaleandfemaleundergraduates.Wealsohaveformulatedasetofinterventions.

1Zafar(2013),forexample,findsthatmaleundergraduatesaremoreinterested,thanarefemales,inthepecuniaryaspectsofthefuturecareertheirmajorwillenable.

12/31/17 -2-

A. EconomicsMajorsbyGender:1984to2015

Therearealmostthreemalemajorsnationwideforeveryfemaleeconomicsmajortoday,expressedrelativetotheirnumbersasdegreerecipients(generallyBAbutalsoBS).Wetermthatstatisticthe“conversionrate.”Thereasontodeflateorscalebythenumberofdegreerecipientsisthatwomenoutnumbermenasundergraduates(andhavedonesoeversincearound1980).Theconversionrateisnearly2.5amongthe100top-rankeduniversities(publicandprivatenon-profit),about2.6forthe100top-rankedliberalartscolleges,and2.9,thehighest,amongpublicuniversities.2

AscanbeseeninFigure1,whichgivestheconversionratefrom1984to2015,therewererelativelymorefemaleeconomicsmajorsinthelate1980sthantodayacrossalltypesofinstitutions.Butbyaround1990theconversionratereachedlevelsaboutequaltowhattheyaretodaybytypeofinstitution,withsomeupsanddownsalongtheway.Thatis,therehasbeenvirtuallynolong-runchangeinthefractionfemaleineconomics,measuredherebytheconversionrate,sincearound1990.Weshouldnotethateconomicsisapopularmajornationwide,althoughtherelatedmajorofbusinessisconsiderablymorepopular.

B. EvidenceandLessonsfrom“AdamsCollege”

Whenwebegandesigningourproject,weobtainedadministrativedatafromaninstitutionwecall“AdamsCollege.”Whenweobtainedthedatain2013,theconversionrateforAdamswas1.8andthefractionfemaleamongeconomicsmajorswas0.35,notmuchdifferentfromthoseatitspeerinstitutions,suchasStanford,Princeton,andHarvard.

AtAdamsandmanyofitspeerinstitutions,incomingfreshmenareaskedwhattheybelievetheirprimarymajorwillbe.TwiceasmanymalesthanfemalesputeconomicsastheirmoreprobableprimarymajoratAdams.Wehavediscoveredsimilarresultsholdforitspeerinstitutions.Thedieiscast,itwouldappear,evenbeforestudentsunpacktheirbags:twomaleswillmajorineconomicsforeveryfemale.ThefirstlessonfromtheAdamsdataisthatusefultreatmentsmustoccursoonafterstudentsarriveoncampus.Butthereareothermomentsintheundergraduateexperiencewheninterventionscouldmakeadifference.

Adamswomendivideintothreealmostequalgroupsamongthosewhoeithermajorineconomicsorstatedtheywouldmajorinthesubjectupontheirarrivalatcollege:(1)0.33stateduponarrivalthateconomicswastheirprimarymajoranddidmajorinit;(2)

2DataarefromtheU.S.DepartmentofEducation,NCES,IPEDS.Schoolsareincludedonlyiftheygrantabachelor’sdegreeineconomicsandarecoeducational.Thetopgroupof100isfromUSNews&WorldReportatthetimetheUWEprojectwasbegun.

12/31/17 -3-

0.31statedeconomicswastheirprimarymajorbutdidnotmajorinit;and(3)0.36majoredineconomicsbutdidnotstateitwastheirprimarymajoruponarrival.

PrinciplesofEconomicsisaverypopularcourseatAdams,particularlyamongthosewhohadaninitialinterestinthefield.Almost80percentofthosewhogaveeconomicsastheirprobablefuturemajortakethecourseandanotherpartofthatgroupplacesoutofPrinciplesthroughafiveontheAPexam.

ThewomenwhotakePrinciplesbutdonoteventuallymajorinthesubjectaredisproportionatelyamongthosewhoobtainedagradebelowanA-inthecourse.Therelationshipholdsevenamongthosewhogaveeconomicsastheirintendedmajor.WomenwhotakePrincipleshaveamuchhigherprobabilityofmajoringinthesubjectiftheyobtainahighgrade.Thatisnottrueformales,whomajorineconomicsalmostindependentoftheirgradeinPrinciples.

MalesgethighergradesinthePrinciplescoursethandofemales,ascanbeseeninFigure2.A.Butconditionalonthegradereceived,femaleshaveafarsteepergradientregardingtheirlikelihoodofmajoringinthesubject,ascanbeseeninFigure2.B.AfemalewhoobtainsaB+inPrincipleshasa27percentchanceofmajoringineconomicsbutamalewhoreceivesaB+hasa41percentchance.AfemalewhogetsanAinprincipleshasa42percentlikelihoodofmajoringinthesubjectandthatisaboutthesameasthatforamale(41percent).NotethatthereisnodifferenceintheprobabilitymalesmajorineconomicsifhegetsaB+oranA,butthefractionisreducedforfemalesbyalmost20percentagepoints.Thelineindicatingthelikelihoodofamalemajoringineconomicsisalmostflatwithrespecttotheirprinciplesgradewhereasitissteeplyslopedforwomen.3

Whataccountsforthesedifferences?Itispossiblethatfemalestudentsworkhardinsubjectsatwhichtheyexcel(ortoldtheyexcel),whereasmalestudentstakesubjectstheyknowwilleventuallybenefitthem.Femalestudentsmayseekmore“comfort”intheirselectionofamajor,whereasmalesstickwiththeirgoal.Itisalsopossiblethatthisbehavioristheresultof“stereotype”threat.Oncewomendopoorlyinasubjectatwhichtheyareoftentoldtheywillperformpoorlyat,theyshyawayfromit.Onewaytotestthisistoseeifthesamebehavioroccursincoursesinwhichwomenarethoughttodowellin,

3NotethatthedifferenceinthegradientregardingthegradeinPrinciplesformalesversusfemalesexistswithingroups.Forexample,itexistsforcertaingroupslikeAsian-Americansandinternationalstudentswhohaverelativelyhighratesofmajoringineconomicsanditalsoexistsforthosewhointendedtomajorineconomicsandforthosewhodidnotintendtodoso.SeeRaskandTiefenthaler(2008)foralmostidenticalresultsfromanotherinstitution.

12/31/17 -4-

suchasliterature.Variouspiecesofevidencesuggestthatwomengravitatetofieldsinwhichtheydowell,independentofthenotionofstereotypethreat.4

TheimportantpointhereisthatinterventionsthatpraisestudentswhogetaB+oraBinPrinciplesshouldhaveagreaterimpactonfemalethanmalestudents.ThesecondlessonfromtheAdamsdataisthathelpingfemalestudentsnotgetdiscouragedinthegatewaycourseineconomicscouldencouragethemtomajorinthefield.

Asinmostotherinstitutions,thecoursesthatfollowPrinciplesforthemajoratAdamsaretheintermediatetheorycoursesandeconometrics.Thereisnodifferentialfalloffbysexafterstudentstakethesecourses.TheprimemomentswherefemalestudentsrelativetomalestudentsdecidetomajorineconomicsareattheverystartoftheirundergraduatelifeandjustaftertakingPrinciples.

ThemajorsthatattractthestudentswholeavetheEconomicsmajoratAdamsareamixedbagofgovernment,psychology,andgeneralsocialsciences.

Anotherinterestingdeterminantofwhetherwomenmajorineconomicsisafeaturethatcannotbealtered:ethnicityandbirthplace.AtAdamsanditspeerinstitutions,internationalstudents,definedasthosewhosehomecountryisoutsidetheUS,disproportionatelymajorineconomicsandwithinthegroupfemaleshaveagreatersharethantheydointhetotal.ThesameistrueforAsianAmericans.Theseareinterestingfactsthatexplainsomeportionofwhycertaininstitutions(e.g.,Berkeley,UCLA)haveahigherfractionfemalethandocomparableinstitutionswithfewerAsianstudents.Butthereareapparentlynoimplicationsforincreasingtheshareofwomenamongundergraduateeconomicsmajors.

Whataboutmath-ability?TherawdifferencebetweenmalesandfemalesindeclaringeconomicsasoneofthethreetopchoicesuponacceptanceatAdamsis0.187.Includingthepre-admissionscoresontheSATmathandtheAdamsmathplacementtestreducesthedifferencebyjust1percentagepointto0.177.Math-abilitydoesnothavemuchtodowiththeinitialdecisiontomajorineconomicsandwiththechoiceofaneventualmajor.

Whatabouttakingeconomicspriortoadmission?MalesdisproportionatelytakeAPeconomics,butthatdoesnotexplainthelargedifferencesinmajorchoice.Amongmale

4Forexample,Butcher,McEwan,andWeerapana(2016)analyzeananti-gradeinflationpolicyatWellesley.Theyfindthatthepolicyledtoarelativeincreaseineconomicsmajorsbecauseeconomicswasamongthesubjectsthatgradedtheharshest.Theanti-gradeinflationpolicyledothersubjects,thathadpreviouslybeen“comfort”oreasygraders,togrademoreharshly.

12/31/17 -5-

undergraduates,15.8percentgotafiveonthemacroAPand11.4percentoffemalesdid;12percentofmalesbut9.2percentoffemalesgotafiveonthemicroAP.Differencesregardingthemajoraremuchlarger.IncludingwhetherastudentgotafiveontheeconomicsAPdecreasesthedifferencebetweenmalesandfemalesinthedeclarationofeconomicsastheintendedmajorbylessthan1percentagepoint.Similarresultsholdfortheeventualmajor.

C. OriginsofUWE

TheobservationsfromtheIPEDSdatasparkedGoldin,whenshewaspresidentoftheAEA,tothinkabouthowtogetmorewomentomajorineconomics.5Economicsasafieldhadbecomecomplacent.Themajorwaspopularamongmalestudentsandmaleshadoncegreatlyoutnumberedfemalesasundergraduates.Butthatwasnolongerthecaseandeconomicswaslosingout.Thedisciplinehadbecomeconcernedthatthereweretoofewfemaleeconomicsstudentsatthegraduatelevelandfinallyrealizedthatonlybyincreasingtheundergraduatepipelinecouldthosenumbersincrease.

Inadditiontowantingmoremajorstoincreasegraduateenrollment,someeconomistsalsorealizedthatfemaleundergraduates,asstudentsandasmembersofsociety,werelosingoutbyoverlookingeconomics.Theoversight,moreover,wasoftenforthewrongreasons.

GoldinsubmittedaproposaltotheAlfredP.SloanFoundationtosupportanRCT(randomizedcontrolledtrial)nowcalledUndergraduateWomeninEconomics(UWE),orTheChallenge.TheprojectwasfundedbySloaninSummer2014andTatyanaAvilovawashiredastheprojectmanager.Anadvisorygroup(nowcalledtheBoardofExperts)metinNovember2014todiscussstrategy.6

InJanuary2015e-mailsweresenttoalldepartmentalchairsand/orundergraduateheadsofcollegesanduniversities(separatecampuses)thatgrantedaneconomicsBAtoatleast15graduatesperyear,asgivenintheIPEDSdata.Therewereonly344oftheseinstitutionsintheUS.Eache-mailrecipientwasaskedwhetherthepersonagreed,inprinciple,toimplementasetoftreatmentsorinterventionstoincreasethenumberoffemalemajors.Theyweretoldthattheirinstitutionwouldreceive$12,500(inincrementsaftermeetingstatedgoals)fortheireffortsandthatthefundscouldbeusedinanywaythatwouldfurtherthestatedobjective.

5SeeBayerandRouse(2016)onthebeneficialimpactofgreaterdiversityonthefieldofeconomics.6InformationontheBoardofExpertsisat:http://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/board-experts

12/31/17 -6-

Wereceivedenthusiasticrepliesfrom167schools,almosthalfofthe344institutionsweinitiallycontacted,demonstratingastronglatentdemandforaction.7Duetothelargenumberofpositiveresponses,weincreasedthecutoffnumberofBAsineconomicsfrom15to30peryear.Wewantedtoensurethattheeconomicsprogramateachinstitutionwaslargeenoughtopickupchangesinmajorsinducedbytheinterventionsratherthanfromfluctuationsduetosmallcohortsize.Wealsoimposedotherrequirementstoincreasethepoweroftheexperiment.8

Wenarrowedthegroupto88schools,whichwehavetermedthe“treatable”sample.Wethenstratifiedthe88treatableschoolsintofourselectivitygroupsandrandomlypickedfiveschoolsfromeachgroupof22.9All20randomlypicked“treatment”schoolsagreedtotakepartinthetrial;36ofthenon-treatmentschoolsagreedtobe“controls.”10Bothtreatmentsandcontrolsagreedtosubmitdatathroughouron-linetool.

D. TreatmentandControlInstitutions

TheideabehindtheRCTisthattheUWEprogramwouldincentiveschoolstoinitiatetreatmentsthatwoulddisproportionatelyincreasethenumberoffemalemajors,possiblywithoutdecreasingthenumberofmaleeconomicsmajors.Theideawastotreatthegroupofincomingfreshmenwhowouldlikelygraduatefouryearslater.Butsome

7Welaterdeterminedthatsomeinterestedfacultyneverreceivedthee-mailsinceitwassenttothepersonwebelievedwasthechairofthedepartmentoroftheundergraduateprogram.8Thecutoffof30majors,left118schoolsinsample.Next,weeliminatedallschoolsthatwerenotinthe“top100universities”orthe“top100colleges”categoryaccordingtoUSNews&WorldReport(USN&WR).WealsoeliminatedsomePhDgrantinginstitutionsthatproducedfewerthanthreePhDsinthe2008-2012period.Thisleftuswitha“treatable”sampleof88schools.9WecombinedtheUSN&WRrankingsfortopuniversitiesandtopcolleges,andrankedall88institutionsfromhighesttolowest.Schoolswiththesameranking(e.g.,#1universityand#1college)wereorderedbasedontheaverageSATscore.Therankedlistwasthendividedintofourgroupsof22,withanumber1through22basedontheirrelativeUSN&WRrank.Ten(10)randomnumbersweredrawnfromonetotwenty-twousinganonlinerandomnumbergenerator.Schoolswiththefirstfivenumberswereassignedtothetreatmentgroupandschoolswiththesecondfivenumberswereassignedtoawaitlist.Therestoftheschoolswereautomaticallyassignedtothecontrolgroup.Wedidnotneedtocontactanyschoolsonthewaitlist.10Thecontrolgroupcanconsistofthe68schoolsfromthetreatablesamplethatwerenotrandomlyselectedintothetreatmentgroup.BecausealltheseschoolswereoriginallyinvitedtoparticipateintheUWEChallenge,theyareawareoftheinitiative.Theycannotbepreventedfromimplementinginterventionsoftheirowndesign,buttheywerenotprovidedwiththesameguidanceandresourcesaswerethetreatmentinstitutions.Forallinstitutionsinthecontrolandtreatmentgroups,thenumbersofmaleandfemaleeconomicsmajorswillbeavailablethroughtheIPEDSdatabase.

12/31/17 -7-

studentsdonotgraduateinfouryearsandsomesophomoresmightbetreatedalongwiththefreshmen.

Thetreatmentinstitutionsareencouraged,althoughnotobligated,tocontinuetheinterventionsgoingforward,butfundingisofficiallyprovidedinthedesignatedtreatmentyearonly.Inadditiontoproposingandimplementinginterventionstotargetundergraduatestudents,treatmentschoolsareinstructedtoreportdata,beyondwhatcanbeobtainedthroughtheIPEDSdatabase.Theadditionaldataincludecontemporaneousenrollmentsbysexintheeconomicsprinciplesandintermediatecourses,thenumberoftransferstudentsinthecourses,andthenumbersofdoublemajors.Wealsoaskedforthenumberofgraduateswhomajoredineconomics,whichisavailablethroughtheIPEDS.11

Wehave,inaddition,askedschoolstoreportoutcomesbasedonthetreatmentgroupsincesomesophomoresandupperclassmenmighthavebeentreatedalongwiththefreshmen.Weunderstandthatthismaynotbepossibleinallcases.Wewill,aswell,followcohortsastheygothroughtheprogramtoseeifrelativeenrollmentsofmalesandfemalesinthehigher-levelclasseschange.

Our20treatmentschoolsareahighly-variedgroup.Somearelargestateuniversities,afewareflagshipinstitutions;somearesmallliberalartscollegesandseveralareIvyLeagueinstitutions.Somehavebusinessschoolswithundergraduatemajors(businessprogramsappeartosyphonofffemalesfromeconomicsmorethantheydomales).Severalallowdoubleoreventriplemajors.Intermsofthevariablesofinterest,theyrangewidelyintermsofthefractionfemaleamongtheirrecentgroupofBAeconomicsmajorsandintermsofthefractionoftheirundergraduateswhomajorineconomics.Figure3givesamapshowingthegeographicrangeofthe20schools.

WeprovidethefractionfemaleamongeconomicsmajorsinFigure4(adjustedforthenumbersofmaleandfemalegraduates)forall88“treatable”schoolsandforthe20randomlyselectedtreatmentschools.12Notsurprisinglythegroupof20nestsinsidethelargergroupof88fromwhichtheywererandomlydrawn(fromfourselectivitysegments).Therangeforourtreatmentsampleisconsiderable.AtthehighendareBerkeley(0.39)andBrown(0.38).AtthelowerendareIllinoisState(0.14)andtheUniversityofConnecticut(0.16).13

11TheIPEDSalsoasksraceandethnicityofmajors.12Wegraphthisversionofour“conversion”ratebecauseithaslessextremevalues.13Theoneschoolinthegroupof88thatisatparityisMIT,inlargepartbecauseeconomicsisevenlesstechnicalthanmanyoftheotherpopularmajorsthere.Otherengineeringschools(notinthegroupof88)havesimilarlyhighvaluesforthefractionfemale.

12/31/17 -8-

E. RangeofTreatments

InMay2015,wemetinCambridge,MAwiththetreatmentschoolsintwogroupsoftentodiscusstheissuesfacedbyeachandthetreatmentsandinterventionseachthoughtwouldbeusefultoemploy.Wehadacknowledgedearlyonthateachpotentialtreatmentwouldnotfitallschoolsandthatalimitedsetoftreatmentswouldnotadequatelyaddresstheproblem.Instead,weassembledalistofpotentialtreatmentsinthree(somewhatoverlapping)areasandrequiredourtreatmentschoolstouseseveralofthem:

1. BetterInformation:Theseinterventionsaretoprovidemoreaccurateinformationabouttheapplicationofeconomicsandcareerpathsopentoeconomicsmajors.Interventionsincludeinformationalsessionsatthestartoftheacademicyear,havingdiversespeakersatevents,andensuringthepresenceofatleastonefemaleadviser.

2. MentoringandRoleModels:Theintentistocreatenetworksamongstudentsandtoshowsupportfortheirdecisiontomajorinthefield.Potentialinterventionsincludementoringfreshmenandsophomoresbyupper-classstudents,providingmoreguidancetostudentsinfindingsummerjobsandRA-shipsineconomics,organizingfaculty-studentlunches,andproducingvideosaboutthedepartmentanditsstudents.Ifpossible,theuseoffemaleupper-classstudentsandfacultymemberswasencouragedbutsincetheycouldnotbeincreased,theaddedburdensonexistingfemaleinstructionalstaffcouldbecounterproductive.14

3. InstructionalContentandPresentationStyle:Thiscategoryismeanttoimprovebeginningeconomicscoursesandmakethemmorerelevanttoawiderrangeofstudents.Examplesincludeusingmoreevidence-basedmaterialingatewaycourses,andincorporatingprojects,suchasthoseinthelocalcommunity,intobeginningandupper-levelcoursestoallowstudentstoapplytheirknowledgetocurrentissues.

TreatmentschoolssubmittedplansofactionbythestartoftheFall2015semesterandprovidedprogressreportsinJanuary2016.AllbutoneschoolbegantheirtreatmentyearinAY2015/16.15Theirproposalsandprogressreportsdiscussawiderangeofimplementedinterventions,whichwehavelistedinTable1.TheUWEprogramsponsoredseveralconferencesthatbroughttogetherstudentsandfacultyfrommanyofthetreatmentschools.ThefirstwasheldattheUniversityofVirginiainApril2016andthesecondwas

14SeeCarrell,Page,andWest(2010)forconvincingevidencethatfemaleinstructorsinSTEMfieldsincreasegradesoffemalesandtheirlikelihoodofmajoringinSTEMmorethanmaleinstructorsdo.15Becauseofstaffingproblems,UniversityofCentralFloridabegantheirtreatmentyearin2016/17.

12/31/17 -9-

heldayearlateratColoradoStateUniversityinApril2017.AnortheastundergraduateconferencewasheldatWilliamsCollege,alsoinApril2017.

Werequiredthattreatmentandcontrolschoolssubmitdataonvariousmeasuresofenrollmentandgraduationgoingbackseveralyears.Theenrollmentdatarequestedincludes:thenumberofstudentsenrolledinthePrinciplessequence,andthenumberofstudentsenrolledintheIntermediateTheorysequence,allbycourseandgender.Thegraduationdataincludes:thenumberofstudentsbygendergraduatingwithamajorinEconomics(oradoublemajorinEconomics);thenumberofstudentsgraduatingwithaminororsecondaryinEconomics;thenumberofstudentsgraduatingwithamajorinEconomicswhoaretransferstudentstotheinstitutionsaftertheirsophomoreyear.

Severalparticipants,suchastheUniversityofCaliforniaschools,havemanytransferstudentswhoenteraftercompletingtwoyearsofcommunitycollege.Mostoftheprerequisitecourseworkforthemajor,forthesestudents,iscompletedpriortotheirtransfer.Bythetimethattheyenrollinoneofourschools,theywouldalreadybeontracktoaspecificmajorandwouldnotbeaffectedbyinterventionsaimedatstudentsintheinitialgatewaystageofthemajor.Seeingwhatportionoftotalmajorsareaccountedforbythesetransferstudentsmayrevealtheeffectofinterventions.

F. PreliminaryResults

WewillnotbeablefullytoevaluatetheUWEChallengeinterventionsforseveralyears.Insomeinstitutions,studentsdonotdeclareamajoruntiltheyarereadytograduateandforallinstitutions,studentscanchangemajorsalongtheway.Therefore,wemustwaituntilthefirsttreatmentyeargraduatestoassessifmorewomenmajoredineconomicsinthetreatmentschoolsthaninthecontrolsorthanbeforethetreatment.

ThereareafewreasonswhytheUWEinterventionmighthavehadanimpactevenifwecannotmeasureit.Thereisconsiderablevariationinmajorsfromyeartoyear.OurpowercalculationindicatesthatweshouldbeabletodetectachangeinthefractionoffemaleBAswhoareeconomicsmajorsof0.0072betweenourcontrolandtreatmentgroups.Butbecausethemean(unweightedbytreatmentschool)isabout0.04,thatisafairlylargechange.

Thereisalsoleakageinvariousways.Somethe“treated”studentsweresophomoresandupperclassmenatthetimeoftreatmentandwillgraduatebeforethetreatmentclassdoes.Inaddition,wemightnotbeabletoaccountforsomeofthetransferstudents,noneofwhomwouldhavebeentreated.Finally,someofthecontrolschoolsafter

12/31/17-10-

learningabouttheUWEChallengeinstitutedinterventionsoftheirowntoincreasethenumberoffemalemajors.

WearefortunatethatseveralofourtreatmentschoolsexecutedtheirownRCTsforwhichtheyobtainedIRBapprovalattheirinstitution.Theseprovideresultsinadvanceofourownandarecleanerduetoanabsenceofthecomplicationsmentioned.Thetwoschoolsforwhichwehaveresults—ColoradoStateUniversityandSMU—wereamongthosewiththelowestfractionfemalemajoringineconomicsamongrecentgraduatingclasses.16

ColoradoStateUniversity,underthedirectionofProf.Hsueh-Hsiang(Cher)Li,rananRCTinSpring2016.ThreetreatmentswereincludedintheprinciplescoursethatmirroredthoseUWEsuggestedmoregenerally:(1)Studentsinthetreatmentarmwereshownavideoduringsectionaboutcareersineconomicsandgiveninformationontheearningsofeconomists;(2)Femalestudentsinthetreatmentarmreceivedinformationonthegradedistributionatmid-termandthoseatandabovethemedianweresentletterspraisingtheirworkandencouragingthemtomajorinthefield;and(3)Femalestudentsinthetreatmentarm,regardlessoftheirgrades,wereencouragedtopartakeinpeermentoringactivities.

Studentswereaskedatthestartandendofthesemesterwhethertheyplannedtomajorineconomics.Theaggregateimpactofallthreetreatmentswassubstantial(increasingmajorsbymorethan50percentfrombaselinelevelsof0.13,conditionalontakingthePrinciplescourse),particularlygiventhesmallcost.Althougheachinterventionhadsomeimpact,treatment(2),whichencouragedfemalestudentstomajorinthefieldwhohadagradeabovethemedian,hadbyfarthegreatesteffect.

AtSouthernMethodistUniversity,CatherinePorterandDanilaSerra(2017)ranafieldexperimentinwhichtheyrandomizedwhichPrinciplessectionswouldengageinarolemodelintervention.Attheendofthesemesterthecourseisroutinelysurveyedaboutprobablemajor.Administrativedataprovidesinformationonwhetherstudentslaterregisteredfortheintermediatecourse.Thesamecourse,withthesameinstructors,wasofferedtheyearprecedingtheexperiment,givingtheauthorstheabilitytodoaninstructorfixed-effectsmodelaswell.

Theinterventionwasa15-minutestatementbyoneoftwofemalegraduatesofSMUeconomicsontheimportanceofeconomicstotheircareers.Theinterventionsincreased

16UCSantaBarbaraalsodidanRCT,buttheirresultswillnotbeavailableforanotherhalfyear.TheirfieldexperimentwastosendcongratulatoryandencouragingmessagestostudentsinthePrinciplescourse(Ec1)whodidreasonablywell.

12/31/17-11-

thefractionofwomentakingtheintermediatecoursewithinayearby8percentagepointsonabaseofabout13percent(usingtherawdata)andincreasedthefractiongivingeconomicsasaprobablemajorbyaboutthesame.Theseareextremelylargeeffects.Therewasnoimpactonthemalesintheclass.Asinotherstudies(e.g.,Carrell,PageandWest,2010),muchoftheeffectcamefromfemalestudentswithhighGPAs.Furthermore,thewomenwhoshiftedfieldsdisproportionatelycamefromthehumanitiesandlanguagesratherthanfromotherSTEMfields.Theauthorsfind,consistentwiththeresultsfromAdamsCollege,thatgradesinthePrinciplescoursehavenoinfluenceonthedecisiontocontinuewiththesubjectformalesbutarestronglyrelatedtocontinuationforfemales.

G. WhatUWEHasDoneforEconomics

WedonotyetknowwhethertheinterventionsadoptedbytheUWEtreatmentschoolswillhaveanimpactonthenumberoffemaleundergraduateswhomajorineconomics.Thewithin-schoolRCTsdidhaveeffectsandtheseeffectswereverylarge.Inonecasetheoutcomewaswhetherthestudentssaidtheywouldmajorineconomics,notwhethertheydid.Butintheotheritwaswhetherthestudentsenrolledintheintermediatecourseandthatgenerallyindicatesthatthestudentwillmajorineconomics.Itappearsthatsmallinterventionscouldhavelargeeffects.

Theinterventionsthatmostofourtreatmentschoolshaveusedwererelativelyinexpensive.Buttheyrequiredthetimeandinitiativeofhard-workingundergraduateinstructionalstaffandfaculty.Unlessthechairofthedepartmentor,betteryet,thedeanoftheschoolortheprovostattheuniversityprovidesincentives,thereislittlemotivationtoaddtothedutiesofteachingpersonnel.TheUndergraduateWomeninEconomicsprogram,togetherwiththeAlfredP.SloanFoundation,providedincentivesbygivingrecognitiontotheinitiativesandcollectivesupportandencouragement.Insomeinstances,theinitiativeswererecognizedbythe“higherups”intheuniversity.

Someofourcontrolschools,wehavebeentold,weremotivatedbytheUWEChallengetotrytheirowninterventionstoincreasethenumberoffemalemajors.Ifenoughoftheschoolsdidthat,wecouldseeatrendbreakintheIPEDSdata.WewillknowmoreinthenextfewyearsabouttheimpactoftheUWEChallengeandtheprojectmoregenerally.

12/31/17-12-

References

Bayer,AmandaandCeciliaE.Rouse(2016).“DiversityintheEconomicsProfession:ANewAttackonanOldProblem.,”JournalofEconomicPerspectives30(4):221–42.

Butcher,KristinF.,PatrickJ.McEwan,andAkilaWeerapana.(2014).“TheEffectsofanAnti-Grade-InflationPolicyatWellesleyCollege,”JournalofEconomicPerspectives28(3):189-204.

Carrell,ScottE.,MarianneE.Page,andJamesE.West(2010).“SexandScience:HowProfessorGenderPerpetuatestheGenderGap,”QuarterlyJournalofEconomics125(3):1101–44.

Li,Hsueh-Hsiang(Cheri).2017.“DoesBetterInformationReducetheGenderGapinEconomicsMajors?”ColoradoStateUniversityWorkingPaper.

Porter,Catherine,andDanilaSerra.2017.“GenderDifferencesintheChoiceofMajor:TheImportanceofFemaleRoleModels.”SouthernMethodistUniversity.WorkingPaper.Dec.5,2017.TobepresentedattheASSAMeetings,PhiladelphiaPA.

Rask,Kevin,andJillTiefenthaler.2008.“TheRoleofGradeSensitivityinExplainingtheGenderImbalanceinUndergraduateEconomics,”EconomicsofEducationReview,27(6):676-87.

Zafar,Basit.2013.“CollegeMajorChoiceandtheGenderGap,”JournalofHumanResources,48(3):545-95.

12/31/17-13-

Figure1:EconomicsConversionRateforUSPublicandPrivateNon-ProfitInstitutionsofHigherEducation,1984to2015

Source:U.S.DepartmentofEducation,NCES,IPEDS

Notes:Schoolsareincludedonlyiftheygrantedanundergraduatedegreeineconomics.Theeconomics“conversionrate”=[(MaleEconomicsBAs/AllMaleBAs)/(FemaleEconomicsBAs/AllFemaleBAs)],whereBAismeanttoincludeallundergraduatebachelor’sdegrees.

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

All Top100Universities Top100LAColleges PublicUniversities

All

Public

Top100UniversitiesTop100

LAColleges

12/31/17-14-

Figure2:GradeDistributionbySexinPrinciplesandtheFractionMajoringinEconomicsbyGradefor2005to2013GraduatingClassesat“Adams”College

A. Distribution of Grades in Principles-Spring (or Fall if placed out)

B. Fraction Majoring in Economics by Grade in Principles-Spring (or Fall if placed out)

Source: Adams College administrative data.

Notes: Grade is for Principles-Spring or -Fall if student placed out of Principles-Spring. Results do not change if Principles-Fall is used. Trend-lines are second degree polynomials.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

A A- B+ B B- < B-

Male Female

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

0.45

A A- B+ B B- < B-

Males Females Poly.(Males) Poly.(Females)

Males

Females

12/31/17-15-

Figure3:TheTwentyUWETreatmentSchools

Treatmentschools(inalphabeticalorder):

BrownUniversity;ColoradoStateUniversity,FortCollins;ConnecticutCollege;IllinoisStateUniversity;PrincetonUniversity;SouthernMethodistUniversity;St.OlafCollege;UCSantaBarbara;UCBerkeley;UniversityofCentralFlorida;UCBoulder;UniversityofConnecticut;UniversityofHawaii,Manoa;UniversityofIllinois,Urbana-Champaign;UniversityofRichmond;UniversityofVirginia;UniversityofWisconsin,Madison;WashingtonandLeeUniversity;WilliamsCollege;YaleUniversity.

12/31/17-16-

Figure4:FractionFemale(Adjusted)amongthe88“Treatable”andthe20Treatment(Orange)Institutions(2011-2013)

Source:IPEDS.Dataaveragedacross2011to2013aregiven.TheUWERCTwassetupusingthesedata.

Notes:Fractionfemale(adjusted)=[(FemaleEcMajors/FemaleBAs)/(FemaleEcMajors/FemaleBAs)+(MaleEcMajors/MaleBAs)]

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

1 88

FractionFemaleamongEconomicsMajors(adjustedbynumberofgraduates)

12/31/17-17-

Table1:MajorInterventionsImplementedbyTreatmentInstitutions

InterventionDescription NumberofInstitutions

Providingmorecompleteinformationaboutupper-levelcourses 12SendinglettersofencouragementtostudentsinPrinciples 11UseoftheAEAvideoand/orproducingownvideoabouteconomics 10Panelswithfaculty,alumni,andothersabouteconomicscareers 7Informationalfliersabouteconomicsforfreshmanatstartofyear 7Focusgroupswithstudentstolearnwhatcouldbeimproved 7UWE(UndergraduateWomeninEconomics)studentclubs 6Useofupper-classmajorsandgraduatestudentsasmentors 6Facultyworkshopswithundergraduates 6Informallunchesforfacultyandstudents 6

Other:Socialmediaoutreach(4);extrasectionsinPrinciples(3);changestoPrinciplescontent(2);changingmajorrequirements(2);bettermatchedadvisingwithincomingfreshmen(2);moreRAopportunities(2).