Recent Trends in Undergraduate Economics Degrees

Siegfried, John J.; Scott, Charles E.

doi:10.1080/00220485.1994.10844838

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…17 To see if the labor market behaviors associated with majoring in or taking courses in economics (relative to those associated with a general major or to taking no economics courses, respectively) are different for women and men, we interacted the indicators for majoring in economics and business, or the variables for economics courses, with an indicator 17. This is lower than the share of current female graduates reported by Siegfried (2007) because it reflects enrollments from earlier decades, when there were fewer female graduates. variable to identify females.…”

Section: Gender and Economics Majors And Courseworkmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Including information about layoffs and hours worked, for example, provides a richer description of a person's labor market experience. 4 We explicitly account for gender differences in our analysis of the labor market outcomes and behaviors, because Katz, Goldin, and Kuziemko (2006) report that, although women are now more likely to graduate from college than men, women still comprise less than a third of economics majors, and in recent years that percentage appears to have fallen slightly (Siegfried 2007). One possible reason for this outcome is that the returns to studying economics may differ for women and men.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Economics Coursework and Long-Term Behavior and Experiences of College Graduates in Labor Markets and Personal Finance

et al. 2010

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Using survey data from over 2,000 students who attended one of four large public universities in 1976, 1986, or 1996, we investigate the relationship between taking more coursework in economics, or choosing economics as an undergraduate major, and a wide range of later decisions and outcomes in labor markets and personal finance, many of which have not been analyzed in earlier research. Generally, economics coursework and majoring in economics are significantly related to higher levels of earnings, home equity, and savings. They are also associated with working more hours and negatively related to completing graduate degrees (except the MBA). Among graduates with positive savings, those with more economics coursework invest more in individual stocks and money market accounts, and are more likely to have employerprovided life insurance. They have fewer credit cards, which are more often paid in full each month. Most of these findings also hold for graduates who majored in business, but on average economics majors worked more hours and earned more than business majors, were more likely to have been self-employed, and expected to retire at an older age. Business majors were more likely to have experienced a layoff, and were even less likely than economics majors to complete graduate degrees (except the MBA). Economics majors expected to save even more than business majors by retirement, and viewed short-term and precautionary motives for saving as more important. Finally, our results suggest that exposure to economics through course-taking is more important for later outcomes than actual performance in those courses. (JEL A22, J3, D12)

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Section: Gender and Economics Majors And Courseworkmentioning

confidence: 63%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Economics Coursework and Long-Term Behavior and Experiences of College Graduates in Labor Markets and Personal Finance

et al. 2010

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“…One should note that Siegfried's data is rather generously skewed in the sense that he regards an economics major as akin to an economics degree. Siegfried (2011) also concedes that his estimates exceed the US Department of Education official statistics by 21 per cent. In the last few years Siegfried has uncovered an increase in enrolments and relates it not to the sub-prime problem but a ''Freakonomics effect'' (Siegfried, 2010).…”

Section: Changes In Economics Degree Enrolments In the Anglophone Coumentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Siegfried (2011) also concedes that his estimates exceed the US Department of Education official statistics by 21 per cent. In the last few years Siegfried has uncovered an increase in enrolments and relates it not to the sub-prime problem but a ''Freakonomics effect'' (Siegfried, 2010). The book by Stephen Levitt and Stephen Dubner, first published in 2005, and now its successor Superfreakonomics (2010) have been on the American bestseller list and Siegfried argues that its influence, not just with students but also their parents, has had some bearing upon the increase in economic degree enrolments.…”

Section: Changes In Economics Degree Enrolments In the Anglophone Coumentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Over the past three years, the average growth rate in economic bachelor degrees awarded from 2007 till 2009 was 10 per cent. Lately Siegfried (2011) records that undergraduate economics degrees awarded in America have increased by 16 per cent while over the same period total undergraduate degrees awarded increased by only 8 per cent. While this portends an increase in the share in economics degrees over total degrees awarded it is still the case that economics degree enrolments in the US account for around 1.6 per cent of all degrees awarded there (Flynn and Quinn, 2010).…”

Section: Changes In Economics Degree Enrolments In the Anglophone Coumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Did the Global Financial Crisis Have any Impact on Economics Degree Enrolments?*

Millmow

Tuck

2011

Economic Papers: A Journal of Applied Economics and Policy

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The Great Depression is famous for enticing a whole generation of young men and women into studying economics especially in Britain and America and even in this country. What then of the great financial turbulence caused by the subprime crisis? Did it provoke an increase in student interest in economics? Or perhaps the relatively milder traverse Australia has enjoyed over the past three years has meant that student interest was not ignited by what was happening overseas. This paper scrutinises the latest enrolment data for Australia and the other Anglophone countries to ascertain whether there has been any marked increase in economics degree enrolments.

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An economic analysis of the use of student evaluations: implications for universities

Kanagaretnam

Thevaranjan

2003

Manage Decis Econ

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In this paper, we develop an analytical model of joint maximizing behavior on the part of students and professors to develop policy rules for universities who use student evaluations as tools for increasing professor effort and, thereby, student knowledge. More precisely, we examine the potential benefits of student evaluations, the consequences of over-emphasizing them and the optimal level of emphasis that should be placed on them. This exercise allows us to determine conditions under which student evaluations would result in an increase in teaching effort and student knowledge, and environments where it would result in professors manipulating grading schemes to obtain higher student ratings, i.e., grade inflation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Recent Trends in Undergraduate Economics Degrees

Cited by 27 publications

References 1 publication

Economics Coursework and Long-Term Behavior and Experiences of College Graduates in Labor Markets and Personal Finance

Economics Coursework and Long-Term Behavior and Experiences of College Graduates in Labor Markets and Personal Finance

Did the Global Financial Crisis Have any Impact on Economics Degree Enrolments?*

An economic analysis of the use of student evaluations: implications for universities

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