Departmental Characteristics and STEM-Program Offerings in Economics

Abstract

In the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of departments offering STEM-eligible degree programs in economics. I document this trend of STEM-degree offerings and examine the characteristics of departments that offer STEM-eligible programs. Using a tobit regression model, I find that departments that offer STEM-eligible programs earlier are associated with a higher share of foreign students, private institutions, and doctoral and research institutions. Across degree levels, graduate programs are more likely to offer STEM-economics programs earlier, potentially due to their strong quantitative foundation and large shares of international students.

Keywords: STEM, economics major, international students, higher education

JEL Classification: I21, I23