Going back to the High Schools: Challenging Stereotypes about Economics

Sarah Smith, Arun Advani and Laura Harvey

No 20483, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Students may hold stereotyped beliefs about subjects that distort subject choices. For example, economics is believed to be about money, not inequality or well-being, and this perception may attract some students to the subject, while deterring others. We report results from a UK-wide high school outreach program in which undergraduate champions delivered economics taster sessions to 5,000+ students. The sessions increase students’ reported likelihood of studying economics by ~20 per cent. We shed light on what drives this increase. The sessions broaden students’ understanding of what economics is about and this accounts for ~20 per cent of the increased likelihood. The sessions also change students’ beliefs about (different attributes of) studying economics. The most important drivers of the increased likelihood are students’ increased beliefs that they will do well in economics and that they will enjoy studying the subject.

Keywords: Subject choice; beliefs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 C93 D03 I23 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-07
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