Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14205
Authors: Judith Delaney; Paul J. Devereux
Abstract: Using unique data on preference rankings for all high school students who apply for college in Ireland, we investigate whether, conditional on absolute achievement at the end of high school, within school-cohort rank in English and math affects choice of college major. We find that higher rank in math increases the likelihood of choosing STEM and decreases the likelihood of choosing Arts and Social Sciences. Similarly, a higher rank in English leads to an increase in the probability of choosing Arts and Social Sciences and decreases the probability of choosing STEM. The effects of subject ranks on STEM are larger for boys than girls while there is no evidence of a gender difference in the effect of subject ranks on Arts and Social Sciences. We also find that English and math rank can explain about 4% of the gender gap in the choice of STEM as a college major and 9% of the gender gap that is not explained by absolute achievement. Overall, the tendency for girls to be higher ranked in English and lower ranked in math within school-cohorts can explain about 10% of the difference in the STEM gender gap between mixed-sex schools and same-sex schools and about 25% of the difference that is unexplained by absolute achievement. Notably, these effects occur even though within-school rank plays no role whatsoever in college admissions decisions. Overall, the findings imply behavioral effects of subject rank on college major choices that go beyond their effects on human capital accumulation in school.
Keywords: High School Rank; STEM; College Major Choice; Gender Gap; Comparative Advantage
JEL Codes: I20; I23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Higher Math rank (C65) | Increased likelihood of choosing STEM (I23) |
| Higher Math rank (C65) | Decreased likelihood of choosing arts and social sciences (Z11) |
| Higher English rank (A14) | Increased likelihood of choosing arts and social sciences (Z11) |
| Higher English rank (A14) | Decreased likelihood of choosing STEM (I24) |
| Higher Math rank (boys) (C29) | Increased likelihood of choosing STEM (I23) |
| Higher Math rank (girls) (C29) | Increased likelihood of choosing STEM (I23) |
| Math and English ranks (C19) | Explain part of the gender gap in STEM choices (J16) |
| Math and English ranks (C19) | Explain part of the unexplained difference in the gender gap between mixed-sex and same-sex schools (I24) |