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Is More Better? Evaluating Interventions to Increase Female Students’ Interest in Economics

Author

Listed:
  • Ann L. Owen
  • Evelyn Skoy
  • Wei Zhan

Abstract

We implement a two-year randomized controlled trial in an introductory economics course at a liberal arts college to evaluate the impact of combining easy-to-implement interventions on students’ likelihood of taking additional economics courses. Interventions include a welcome email, gender-composition-manipulated required study groups, and an end-of-semester congratulatory email to students with median grades or higher. We find that any one intervention increases the probability that women, but not men, take additional economics courses, but more interventions do not increase effectiveness for individual students. However, heterogeneous effects imply that multiple interventions will be more effective when implemented for a group of students.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann L. Owen & Evelyn Skoy & Wei Zhan, 2026. "Is More Better? Evaluating Interventions to Increase Female Students’ Interest in Economics," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 116, pages 692-696, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:116:y:2026:p:692-696
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261058
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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