IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp18001.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Can Better Information Reduce College Gender Gaps? The Impact of Relative Grade Signals on Academic Outcomes for Students in Introductory Economics

Author

Listed:
  • Antman, Francisca M.

    (University of Colorado, Boulder)

  • Skoy, Evelyn

    (Hamilton College)

  • Flores, Nicholas E.

    (University of Colorado, Boulder)

Abstract

This paper considers the impacts of grades and information on gender gaps in college major and college dropout rates at a large public flagship university. Observational and experimental results suggest women are more responsive to introductory economics grades when deciding whether to major in economics while men are more responsive to introductory economics grades when deciding whether to drop out of college. Providing better information about grade distributions appears to only somewhat mitigate these impacts. These results suggest better information may blunt the impact of relative grade sensitivities on college gender gaps but may not fully outweigh the saliency of grades. Finally, we consider the extent to which aligning economics grading standards with those of competing disciplines would reduce the gender gap in economics graduates but find relatively limited impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Antman, Francisca M. & Skoy, Evelyn & Flores, Nicholas E., 2025. "Can Better Information Reduce College Gender Gaps? The Impact of Relative Grade Signals on Academic Outcomes for Students in Introductory Economics," IZA Discussion Papers 18001, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp18001.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tatyana Avilova & Claudia Goldin, 2018. "What Can UWE Do for Economics?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 186-190, May.
    2. Bobba, Matteo & Frisancho, Veronica, 2022. "Self-perceptions about academic achievement: Evidence from Mexico City," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 231(1), pages 58-73.
    3. William Walstad & William Bosshardt, 2019. "Grades in Economics and Other Undergraduate Courses," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 266-270, May.
    4. Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd Stinebrickner, 2014. "Academic Performance and College Dropout: Using Longitudinal Expectations Data to Estimate a Learning Model," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(3), pages 601-644.
    5. Kelly Bedard & Jacqueline Dodd & Shelly Lundberg, 2021. "Can Positive Feedback Encourage Female and Minority Undergraduates into Economics?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 128-132, May.
    6. Todd Stinebrickner & Ralph Stinebrickner, 2012. "Learning about Academic Ability and the College Dropout Decision," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(4), pages 707-748.
    7. Pedro Bordalo & Katherine Coffman & Nicola Gennaioli & Andrei Shleifer, 2019. "Beliefs about Gender," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(3), pages 739-773, March.
    8. Astorne-Figari, Carmen & Speer, Jamin D., 2018. "Drop out, switch majors, or persist? The contrasting gender gaps," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 82-85.
    9. Basit Zafar, 2011. "How Do College Students Form Expectations?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 301-348.
    10. Christopher Avery & Oded Gurantz & Michael Hurwitz & Jonathan Smith, 2018. "Shifting College Majors in Response to Advanced Placement Exam Scores," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(4), pages 918-956.
    11. Basit Zafar, 2013. "College Major Choice and the Gender Gap," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(3), pages 545-595.
    12. Amanda Bayer & Gregory Bruich & Raj Chetty & Andrew Housiaux, 2020. "Expanding and diversifying the pool of undergraduates who study economics: Insights from a new introductory course at Harvard," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 364-379, September.
    13. Rask, Kevin & Tiefenthaler, Jill, 2008. "The role of grade sensitivity in explaining the gender imbalance in undergraduate economics," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 676-687, December.
    14. John J. Conlon, 2021. "Major Malfunction: A Field Experiment Correcting Undergraduates’ Beliefs about Salaries," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(3), pages 922-939.
    15. Catherine Porter & Danila Serra, 2020. "Gender Differences in the Choice of Major: The Importance of Female Role Models," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 226-254, July.
    16. Tisha L. N. Emerson & KimMarie McGoldrick & John J. Siegfried, 2018. "The Gender Gap in Economics Degrees: An Investigation of the Role Model and Quantitative Requirements Hypotheses," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(3), pages 898-911, January.
    17. Patrick J. McEwan & Sheridan Rogers & Akila Weerapana, 2021. "Grade Sensitivity and the Economics Major at a Women's College," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 102-106, May.
    18. Marcus D. Casey & Jeffrey Cline & Ben Ost & Javaeria A. Qureshi, 2018. "Academic Probation, Student Performance, And Strategic Course‐Taking," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(3), pages 1646-1677, July.
    19. Cynthia Bansak & Martha Starr, 2010. "Gender Differences in Predispositions towards Economics," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 33-57.
    20. Sam Allgood & William Bosshardt & Wilbert Van Der Klaauw & Michael Watts, 2011. "Economics Coursework And Long‐Term Behavior And Experiences Of College Graduates In Labor Markets And Personal Finance," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 771-794, July.
    21. Joyce B. Main & Ben Ost, 2014. "The Impact of Letter Grades on Student Effort, Course Selection, and Major Choice: A Regression-Discontinuity Analysis," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 1-10, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Hongyan & Xia, Xing, 2024. "Grades as signals of comparative advantage: How letter grades affect major choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    2. Arnold, Ivo J.M., 2020. "Gender and major choice within economics: Evidence from Europe," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    3. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2021. "High School Rank in Math and English and the Gender Gap in STEM," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Graziella Bertocchi & Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2023. "Adams and Eves: High school math and the gender gap in Economics majors," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(4), pages 798-817, October.
    5. Grace Eau & Derek Hoodin & Tareena Musaddiq, 2022. "Testing the effects of adaptive learning courseware on student performance: An experimental approach," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(3), pages 1086-1118, January.
    6. Larissa Fuchs & Pia Pinger & Philipp Seegers, 2025. "Relative Grades and Gender Differences in STEM Enrollment," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_633, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    7. Graziella Bertocchi & Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2021. "Adams and Eves: The Gender Gap in Economics Majors," EIEF Working Papers Series 2115, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised Dec 2021.
    8. Kristin F. Butcher & Patrick J. McEwan & Akila Weerapana, 2024. "Women’s Colleges and Economics Major Choice: Evidence from Wellesley College Applicants," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 123-161, April.
    9. Li, Hsueh-Hsiang, 2018. "Do mentoring, information, and nudge reduce the gender gap in economics majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 165-183.
    10. Patnaik, Arpita & Pauley, Gwyn & Venator, Joanna & Wiswall, Matthew, 2024. "The impacts of same and opposite gender alumni speakers on interest in economics," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    11. Ersoy, Fulya & Speer, Jamin D., 2025. "Opening the black box of college major choice: Evidence from an information intervention," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    12. Graziella Bertocchi & Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2021. "Adams and Eves: The Gender Gap in Economics Majors," Department of Economics 0196, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    13. Bortolotti, Stefania & Loviglio, Annalisa, 2024. "The Impact of a Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program on University Choices and Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 17417, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Todd Pugatch & Elizabeth Schroeder, 2021. "Promoting Female Interest in Economics: Limits to Nudges," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 123-127, May.
    15. Patnaik, Arpita & Venator, Joanna & Wiswall, Matthew & Zafar, Basit, 2022. "The role of heterogeneous risk preferences, discount rates, and earnings expectations in college major choice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 231(1), pages 98-122.
    16. Pamela Giustinelli, 2022. "Expectations in Education: Framework, Elicitation, and Evidence," Working Papers 2022-026, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    17. Carmen Aina & Chiara Mussida & Gabriele Lombardi, 2023. "Are Business and Economics Alike?," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 557-585, July.
    18. Halim,Daniel Zefanya & Powers,Elizabeth T. & Thornton,Rebecca Lynn, 2021. "Gender Differences in Economics Course-Taking and Majoring : Findings from an RCT," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9732, The World Bank.
    19. Arpita Patnaik & Matthew J. Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2020. "College Majors," NBER Working Papers 27645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Bobba, Matteo & Frisancho, Veronica, 2022. "Self-perceptions about academic achievement: Evidence from Mexico City," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 231(1), pages 58-73.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18001. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.