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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01b5644r75d
Title: Can a Summer Make a Difference? The Impact of the American Economic Association Summer Program on Minority Student Outcomes
Authors: Becker, Charles M.
Rouse, Cecilia E.
Chen, Mingyu
Keywords: JEL Classifications: J124, J121, and J15
diversity in economics, education, and minorities
Issue Date: Aug-2014
Series/Report no.: 581
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.
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01b5644r75d
Appears in Collections:IRS Working Papers

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