Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: May, 2024, Volume 92, Issue 3

Equilibrium Grading Policies with Implications for Female Interest in STEM Courses

https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA17876
p. 849-880

Tom Ahn, Peter Arcidiacono, Amy Hopson, James Thomas

We show that stricter grading policies in STEM courses reduce STEM enrollment, especially for women. We estimate a model of student demand for courses and optimal effort choices given professor grading policies. Grading policies are treated as equilibrium objects that in part depend on student demand for courses. Differences in demand for STEM and non‐STEM courses explain much of why STEM classes give lower grades. Restrictions on grading policies that equalize average grades across classes reduce the STEM gender gap and increase overall enrollment in STEM classes.


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Supplemental Material

Supplement to "Equilibrium Grading Policies with Implications for Female Interest in STEM Courses"

Thomas Ahn, Peter Arcidiacono, Amy Hopson, and James Thomas

Supplemental Appendix

Supplement to "Equilibrium Grading Policies with Implications for Female Interest in STEM Courses"

Thomas Ahn, Peter Arcidiacono, Amy Hopson, and James Thomas

The replication package for this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10685187. The authors were granted an exemption to publish their data because either access to the data is restricted or the authors do not have the right to republish them. Therefore, the replication package only includes the codes but not the data. However, the authors provided the Journal with (or assisted the Journal to obtain) temporary access to the data. The Journal checked the restricted data and the provided codes for their ability to reproduce the results in the paper and approved online appendices. Given the highly demanding nature of the algorithms, the reproducibility checks were run on a simplified version of the code, which is also available in the replication package.

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