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Girls' preferences for STEM and the effects of classroom gender composition: new evidence from a natural experiment

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Listed:
  • Damiano Pregaldini

    (University of Zurich)

  • Uschi Backes-Gellner

    (University of Zurich)

  • Gerald Eisenkopf

    (University of Vechta)

Abstract

We analyze how preferences for STEM fields moderate the effect of classroom gender composition on the math grades of girls in high school. Using data from Switzerland, we compare students who have self-selected into a STEM specialization with students who have self-selected into a language specialization. Our identification exploits the random assignment of students to classrooms after they have chosen their specialization. In contrast to the average effects found in previous studies, we find a negative effect of the proportion of female peers in the classroom on math grades for girls who have self-selected into the STEM specialization and a positive effect for girls who have self-selected into a language specialization. These results are important for policies affecting the gender composition of classrooms.

Suggested Citation

  • Damiano Pregaldini & Uschi Backes-Gellner & Gerald Eisenkopf, 2018. "Girls' preferences for STEM and the effects of classroom gender composition: new evidence from a natural experiment," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0152, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Jul 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:iso:educat:0152
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    Cited by:

    1. Aurélien Sallin & Simone Balestra, 2022. "The Earth is Not Flat: A New World of High-Dimensional Peer Effects," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0189, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    classroom gender composition; girls' preferences for STEM; students' selection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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