IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17803.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Consequences of Promoting Data Literacy Among Graduate Students

Author

Listed:
  • Fort, Margherita

    (University of Bologna)

  • Loviglio, Annalisa

    (University of Bologna)

  • Tinti, Susanna

    (University of Bologna)

Abstract

We study the impact of a program designed to enhance data literacy on graduate students’ skills and academic outcomes in a large Italian university. The program (i.e. a minor) targets students who are expected to have weak quantitative competences and offers 120-hours training focused on improving the ability to interpret and process data, in addition to the regular courses of the master program in which students are enrolled (i.e. their major). The admission process to the minor is characterized by rationing, resolved by random assignment of available slots to applicants. Exploiting the resulting exogenous variation for identification, we find that the program largely improved digital literacy of participants with low pre-treatment levels of numeracy. Despite the additional effort required by the program, we can rule out any slowdown in the progress of the academic career in the major master program of participating students.

Suggested Citation

  • Fort, Margherita & Loviglio, Annalisa & Tinti, Susanna, 2025. "The Consequences of Promoting Data Literacy Among Graduate Students," IZA Discussion Papers 17803, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17803
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17803.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hanushek, Eric A. & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon & Woessmann, Ludger, 2015. "Returns to skills around the world: Evidence from PIAAC," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 103-130.
    2. Hendrickje Catriona Windisch, 2015. "Adults with low literacy and numeracy skills: A literature review on policy intervention," OECD Education Working Papers 123, OECD Publishing.
    3. Chise Diana & Fort Margherita & Monfardini Chiara, 2021. "On the Intergenerational Transmission of STEM Education among Graduate Students," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(1), pages 115-145, January.
    4. Bordon, Paola & Fu, Chao, 2015. "College-Major Choice to College-Then-Major Choice," MPRA Paper 79643, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Paola Bordon & Chao Fu, 2015. "College-Major Choice to College-Then-Major Choice," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1247-1288.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Karnani, Mohit, 2016. "Freshmen teachers and college major choice: Evidence from a random assignment in Chile," MPRA Paper 76062, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Declercq, Koen & Verboven, Frank, 2018. "Enrollment and degree completion in higher education without admission standards," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 223-244.
    3. Arcidiacono, Peter & Kinsler, Josh & Ransom, Tyler, 2022. "Asian American Discrimination in Harvard Admissions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    4. Paredes, Valentina & Pino, Francisco J. & Díaz, David, 2024. "Does facial structure explain differences in student evaluations of teaching? The role of fWHR as a proxy for perceived dominance," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Annalisa Loviglio, 2023. "School Quality Beyond Test Scores: the Role of Schools in Shaping Educational Outcomes," Working Papers wp1184, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    6. Nikhil Agarwal & Eric Budish, 2021. "Market Design," NBER Working Papers 29367, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Chao Fu & Nicolás Grau & Jorge Rivera, 2022. "Wandering astray: Teenagers' choices of schooling and crime," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(2), pages 387-424, May.
    8. Yanqing Ding & Wei Li & Xin Li & Yinduo Wu & Jin Yang & Xiaoyang Ye, 2021. "Heterogeneous Major Preferences for Extrinsic Incentives: The Effects of Wage Information on the Gender Gap in STEM Major Choice," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(8), pages 1113-1145, December.
    9. Fouarge, Didier & Heß, Pascal, 2023. "Preference-choice mismatch and university dropout," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Jasmin Meyer & Kathrin Leuze & Susanne Strauss, 2022. "Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(2), pages 222-247, March.
    11. Christopher Neilson & Federico Huneeus & Conrad Miller & Seth Zimmerman, 2021. "Firm Sorting, College Major, and the Gender Earnings Gap," Working Papers 649, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    12. Dennis Epple & Richard Romano & Sinan Sarpça & Holger Sieg & Melanie Zaber, 2019. "Market power and price discrimination in the US market for higher education," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 50(1), pages 201-225, March.
    13. Seah, Kelvin K.C. & Pan, Jessica & Tan, Poh Lin, 2020. "Breadth of university curriculum and labor market outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    14. Samuel Berlinski & Maria Marta Ferreyra & Luca Flabbi & Juan David Martin, 2024. "Childcare Markets, Parental Labor Supply, and Child Development," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 132(6), pages 2113-2177.
    15. Patterson, Richard & Pope, Nolan G. & Feudo, Aaron, 2019. "Timing Is Everything: Evidence from College Major Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 12069, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. SangMok Lee & Leeat Yariv, 2018. "On the Efficiency of Stable Matchings in Large Markets," Working Papers 2018-4, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    17. Fricke, Hans & Grogger, Jeffrey & Steinmayr, Andreas, 2018. "Exposure to academic fields and college major choice," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 199-213.
    18. Joseph G. Altonji & Peter Arcidiacono & Arnaud Maurel, 2015. "The Analysis of Field Choice in College and Graduate School: Determinants and Wage Effects," NBER Working Papers 21655, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Hastings, Justine S. & Neilson, Christopher A. & Ramirez, Anely & Zimmerman, Seth D., 2016. "(Un)informed college and major choice: Evidence from linked survey and administrative data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 136-151.
    20. Arpita Patnaik & Matthew J. Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2020. "College Majors," NBER Working Papers 27645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    tertiary education; minor; data literacy; human capital formation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17803. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.