AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Student Representation in Undergraduate Economics: The Impact of STEM Designation
AEA Papers and Proceedings
(pp. 679–685)
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of optional practical training reforms on student representation in US undergraduate economics programs. As of 2023, economics degrees, designated as STEM by the US Department of Homeland Security, comprise around 48% of all US undergraduate economics degrees conferred annually, up from 2% in 2016. Using IPEDS completions data from 1997 to 2023 and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, this paper finds that STEM designation significantly increases the number and percentage of undergraduate economics degrees awarded to women and nonresident students but has mixed effects on the number and percentage of degrees conferred to underrepresented minority students.Citation
Underwood, Anthony, Emily C. Marshall, and Eren Bilen. 2026. "Student Representation in Undergraduate Economics: The Impact of STEM Designation." AEA Papers and Proceedings 116: 679–685. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261056Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- A22 Economic Education and Teaching of Economics: Undergraduate
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination