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Can a Summer Make a Difference? The Impact of the American Economic Association Summer Program on Minority Student Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Charles M. Becker

    (Duke University)

  • Cecilia Elena Rouse

    (Princeton University and NBER)

  • Mingyu Chen

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

In the 1970s, the American Economic Association (AEA) was one of several professional associations to launch a summer program with the goal of increasing racial and ethnic diversity in its profession. In this paper we estimate the effectiveness of the AEA's program which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to rigorously study such a summer program. Using a comparison group consisting of those who applied to, but did not attend, the program and controlling for an array of background characteristics, we find that program participants were over 40 percentage points more likely to apply to and attend a PhD program in economics, 26 percentage points more likely to complete a PhD,and about 15 percentage points more likely to ever work in an economics-related academic job. Using our estimates, we calculate that the program may directly account for 17-21 percent of the PhDs awarded to minorities in economics over the past 20 years.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles M. Becker & Cecilia Elena Rouse & Mingyu Chen, 2014. "Can a Summer Make a Difference? The Impact of the American Economic Association Summer Program on Minority Student Outcomes," Working Papers 581, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:indrel:581
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    Cited by:

    1. Nano, Enrico & Panizza, Ugo & Viarengo, Martina, 2024. "Merit-based scholarships for university graduates: A generation of Italian economists," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Gordanier, John & Hauk, William & Sankaran, Chandini, 2019. "Early intervention in college classes and improved student outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 23-29.
    3. Antman, Francisca M. & Qu, Sheng & Weinberg, Bruce A. & Logan, Trevon D., 2025. "The Long-Run Impacts of Mentoring Underrepresented Minority Groups in Economics," IZA Discussion Papers 17829, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    diversity in economics; education; and minorities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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