Abstract
This article uses logistic regression analysis to determine which factors are important in whether an institution reclassifies its general economics program to Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (EQE). Using Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data, we show that the proportion of international students, the relative size of the economics program, the more selective an institution is, and whether an institution is classified as R1 are all directly related to reclassification to EQE. We also show that factors differ by Carnegie Classification and by institutional control.
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Notes
Economics in this work includes only those majors with an Economics Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code beginning with ‘45’, namely: Economics, General, Applied Economics, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (EQE), Development Economics and International Development, International Economics, and Economics, Other. It excludes majors such as Business/Managerial Economics (CIP Code: 52.0601), Agricultural Economics (CIP Code: 01.0103), or Mathematical Economics (CIP Code: 30.4901) which are listed separately from Economics in the CIP
“Economics, General” will be referred to as General Economics to improve readability
In some instances, institutions offered both the General Economics degree and the EQE degree
As evidenced by having at least one conferral in the major
Of these 17 institutions, 15 were missing data related to their admissions rate. The other two institutions were the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Military Academy, which did not report data related to Pell Grant recipients. These academies are fully funded by the United States where students do not use Pell Grants to finance their education
For the period under study, Pennsylvania State University reported IPEDS data for each of their several campus locations. Starting with the spring 2019-2020 collection cycle, the school reports as a single entity
This value is equal to the number of economics degrees conferred as a percentage of all degrees conferred
Classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as either R1, doctoral universities with very high research activity, or R2, doctoral universities with high research activity
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Acknowledgements
We thank Peg Boyle Single, Charles R. Link, Laura J. Ahlstrom, and Florence X. Ran for their guidance on the dissertation that this work is derived from, Guncha Babajanova for suggestions as a discussant at the 2022 Allied Social Science Associations Annual Meeting, and three anonymous reviewers for their many helpful suggestions and contributions.
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Mahon, D.M.N., Asarta, C.J. Why are Schools Reclassifying Their Economics Major?. Eastern Econ J 50, 103–116 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-023-00259-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41302-023-00259-w