Industry Fluctuations and College Major Choices: Evidence from an Energy Boom and Bust

Luyi Han and John Winters

Economics of Education Review, 2020, vol. 77, issue C

Abstract: This paper examines how college students in the United States altered their college majors during the energy boom and bust of the 1970s and 1980s. We focus on petroleum engineering and geology, two majors closely related to the energy industry. We find strong evidence that the energy boom increased the prevalence of these two energy-related majors and the energy bust lowered the prevalence of these majors. Effects are particularly strong for young people born in energy intensive states. Thus, college major decisions responded to industry fluctuations with important location-specific effects consistent with frictions to migration and information flows.

Keywords: College major; Human capital; Higher education; Energy boom; Energy bust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J20 J60 R10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Working Paper: Industry Fluctuations and College Major Choices: Evidence from an Energy Boom and Bust (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:77:y:2020:i:c:s0272775719305801

DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.101996

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