Are Sociocultural Factors Important for Studying a Science University Major?

Volker Grossmann, Aderonke Osikominu and Marius Osterfeld ()
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Marius Osterfeld: University of Fribourg

No 9415, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the role of the sociocultural background of students for choosing STEM fields in university. We combine rich survey data on university graduates in Switzerland with municipality level information from the census as well as nationwide elections and referenda to characterize a student's home environment with respect to religious and political attitudes towards gender equality and science-related issues. Our empirical estimates are based on a structural Roy model which accounts for differences in costs (relative distance to the next technical university) and earnings across majors as well as for selection bias. Our findings suggest that male students from conservative municipalities are more likely to study a STEM field, whereas the sociocultural background plays little role for the major choice of females.

Keywords: choice of field of study; gender differences; selection bias; sociocultural environment; STEM fields (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C81 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2015-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2020, 72 (2), 374-369

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https://docs.iza.org/dp9415.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Are Sociocultural Factors Important for Studying a Science University Major? (2015)
Working Paper: Are sociocultural factors important for studying a science university major? (2015)
Working Paper: Are sociocultural factors important for studying a science university major? (2015)
Working Paper: Are Sociocultural Factors Important for Studying a Science University Major? (2014)
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