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The Undergraduate Origins of PhD Economists

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  • John J. Siegfried
  • Wendy A. Stock

Abstract

The authors document the types of undergraduate colleges and universities attended by those who earned a doctorate in economics from an American university from 1966 through 2003. They examine relationships between type of undergraduate institution and attrition and time-to-degree in PhD programs. The total number of new economics PhDs awarded to U.S. citizens has declined precipitously over the past 30 years. Concurrently, the number of new economics doctorates who hold undergraduate degrees from U.S. universities has fallen by half, from a high of about 800 in 1972 to about 400 in 2003. Among those who have earned undergraduate degrees from American institutions, the mix of schools attended by the doctorates has remained relatively stable, with about 55 percent of those who earn a PhD in economics each year holding their bachelor's degree from a university that offers a PhD in economics and a bit more than 10 percent holding a bachelors degree from a selective liberal arts college. Currently, 18 of the 25 American undergraduate institutions that send the largest percentage of their graduating classes on to earn a PhD in economics are liberal arts colleges. Graduates of liberal arts colleges also have shorter time-to-degree and higher verbal Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores than other economics PhD students.

Suggested Citation

  • John J. Siegfried & Wendy A. Stock, 2007. "The Undergraduate Origins of PhD Economists," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 461-482, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jeduce:v:38:y:2007:i:4:p:461-482
    DOI: 10.3200/JECE.38.4.461-482
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    Cited by:

    1. Qi Ge & Stephen Wu & Chenyu Zhou, 2021. "Sharing common roots: Student‐graduate committee matching and job market outcomes," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(2), pages 828-856, October.
    2. Robin Bartlett & Marianne Ferber & Carole Green, 2009. "The Committee on Economic Education: Its Effect on the Introductory Course and Women in Economics," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2-3), pages 153-172, January.
    3. Kiran Gajwani & Jeffrey Miron, 2015. "Engaging Undergraduates in Economics," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 200-206, April.
    4. Todd R. Jones & Arielle A. Sloan, 2024. "The academic origins of economics faculty," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 434-454, October.
    5. Jenny Bourne & Nathan D. Grawe & Michael Hemesath & Prathi Seneviratne & Maya Jensen, 2024. "The Disappearing Gender Gap in Scholarly Publication of Economists at Liberal Arts Colleges," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 117-134, January.
    6. Wendy A. Stock, 2011. "The Characteristics of Economics Graduate Students," Chapters, in: Gail M. Hoyt & KimMarie McGoldrick (ed.), International Handbook on Teaching and Learning Economics, chapter 70, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • A23 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Graduate

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