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  5. Evolving Trends in Economics Majors: Demographic Shifts and Future Implications
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Evolving Trends in Economics Majors: Demographic Shifts and Future Implications

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (EST)

Philadelphia Convention Center
Hosted By: American Economic Association & Committee on Economic Education
  • Chair: Shreyasee Das, Temple University

Demographic and Curricular Trends in Undergraduate Economics

Anthony Underwood
,
Dickinson College
Emily Marshall
,
Denison University
Eren Bilen
,
Dickinson College

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, the undergraduate economics major has seen its popularity both rise and fall while student demographics have shifted dramatically, potentially driven by several factors including broader trends in US higher education, the increasingly quantitative nature of the economics discipline, and more recent changes to Optional Practical Training policy. In 1997, approximately 1.2 million bachelor’s degrees were conferred in the US, of those 3% were to non-resident students, 56% to women, and 15% to under-represented minority (URM) students. That same year, 1.4% of all these bachelor’s degrees were in economics (16,626) but a larger share was to non-resident students (11%) and a much lower share to women (31%) and URM students (10%). By 2023, the share of the nearly 36,000 economics degrees conferred to women had risen only to 35% and the share to URM had increased to 19%, well short of US higher education more broadly. These trends coincide with major curricular shifts over the past decade, as the share of economics majors requiring statistics and econometrics has increased and the share of STEM-designated economics degrees conferred has increased from 1% in 2012 to 48% in 2023, driven by re-classification at large public universities.

Trends in Economics Enrollment and Potential Explanation

Wendy Stock
,
Montana State University

Abstract

This paper summarizes recent work examining trends in the number and characteristics of students who take college-level economics, as well as research examining potential causes of these trends. Among the cohort who began college in 2004, 38% ever took economics. Among the 2012 cohort, only 26% took economics. Recent research has examined several potential explanations for trends in economics course taking, including changes in high school graduation mandates requiring a course in economics, as well as potential substitution effects stemming from changes in mandates requiring high school personal finance courses.

The Economics Profession’s Socioeconomic Diversity Problem

Anna Stansbury
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert Schulz
,
Independent Researcher

Abstract

Economics PhDs in the US have the lowest share of first-gen college grads of any major field. This lack of socioeconomic diversity stems, in part, from the undergraduate pipeline in the US. The economics major in the US has a substantially lower share of first-gen college grads than other similar majors like math or social sciences. Compositionally, this arises for two reasons. First, the economics major is a larger major at schools with more advantaged student bodies, like private universities or public R1s. Second, even within schools, on average the economics major has a below-average share of first-gen college grads relative to the school’s undergraduate student body. Based on other research, we can speculate on potential reasons for this within-school differential. This could include stringent access thresholds for the economics major (like GPA cutoffs); a lack of information about the economics major or what economics entails at all; or the way undergraduate economics is commonly taught.

AEA Summer Program with Two Interventions: Experiential Learning and Formal Mentoring

Gerald Daniels
,
Howard University
Jevay Grooms
,
Howard University
Rhonda V. Sharpe
,
Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race
Omari Swinton
,
Howard University

Abstract

This paper evaluates the American Economic Association Summer Training Program (AEASP), hosted at Howard University from 2021 to 2025. Program collaborators included the Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race, and economics faculty collaborator, the US Federal Reserve Board. The program provided rigorous foundational and advanced graduate-level courses in microeconomics, econometrics, mathematical methods, and research methodology, taught by distinguished economists, as well as an Inclusive Peer Onsite Distance (IPOD) Mentoring Program. Participants engaged in experiential learning with leading organizations from the public and private sectors and benefited from research mentorship by Nobel Laureate David Card. The mentoring program provided comprehensive academic support, graduate school preparation, GRE training, and professional networking. The evaluation uses placement outcomes, participant feedback, and historical placements of participants who participated in the summer program at previous institutions to assess the program’s effectiveness. Findings indicate that the program significantly enhanced students’ academic skills, graduate school readiness, and career trajectories, demonstrating its effectiveness in preparing participants for successful entry into doctoral programs and professional roles within economics.

Discussant(s)
Trevon Logan
,
Ohio State University
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers
,
Rutgers University
Amy Eremionkhale
,
DePauw University
JEL Classifications
  • A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics