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Promoting scientific faculties: does it work? Evidence from Italy

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  • Maestri, Virginia

Abstract

The object of this article is to assess the causal impact of promotions policies on students' choice of the field of study. We match the records of the students enrolled in two large universities with the records of the participating schools. Within the participating schools, some students took part in the program, while others did not. We adopted an "exposure" approach in which we define as treated all students of a cohort that were eligible for these activities. We find, on average, a positive and significant effect of the policy on targeted and non-targeted scientific bachelor's degrees and positive cross-treatment effects across subjects. However, if the policy has a considerable influence on male students' choices, it does not appear to have any effect on female students' choices. These findings suggest that the policy helped students in correcting their labor market expectations for graduating in science.

Suggested Citation

  • Maestri, Virginia, 2009. "Promoting scientific faculties: does it work? Evidence from Italy," MPRA Paper 31546, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2010.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:31546
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    Cited by:

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    2. BARONE, Adriana & NESE, Annamaria, 2017. "Investment in Education, Obesity and Health Behaviours," CELPE Discussion Papers 146, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    3. Fenoll, Ainoa Aparicio & Moscarola, Flavia Coda & Zaccagni, Sarah, 2021. "Mathematics camps: A gift for gifted students?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 738-751.
    4. Ainoa Aparicio Fenoll & Flavia Coda-Moscarola & Sarah Zaccagni, 2021. "Mathematics Camps: A Gift for Gifted Students," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 647, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    5. Barone, Adriana & Nese, Annamaria, 2015. "Body Weight and Gender: Academic Choice and Performance," MPRA Paper 68450, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. BARONE, Adriana & NESE, Annamaria, 2014. "Body Weight and Academic Performance: Gender and Peer Effects," CELPE Discussion Papers 129, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic impact; educational economics; school choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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