Full Citation
Title: The Effect of the Gender Wage Gap on College Major Choices of Male and Female Students
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2019
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Abstract: College major choice is one of the most influential choices individuals could make in their lifetime. College major choice dictates the level of students’ investment in education, post-graduate occupational opportunities, and lifetime earnings. Since expected earnings are essential in the choice of college major (Cannings, Mahseredjian, & Montmarquette, 2002), I hypothesis that the persistence of the gender wage gap adversely affects college major choices of female students. Using the American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey data, I analyze the effect of the gender wage gap and average absolute wage levels on college major choices of male and female students. I apply McFadden’s choice model, the alternative-specific conditional logit model, to measure the significance of average wage levels and gender wage gap effects across seven broad major categories. I find that the gender wage gap negatively affects choices of female students significantly while the effect on male students’ college major choice is insignificant. I also find that majors that are associated with occupations that exhibit gender-based pay disparity, such as STEM and business majors, discourage female students from choosing them. I expect that this result would lead to further continuance of the gender wage gap and imperfect alignment between educational system outcomes and the need for increasing high skill participants in the labor market.
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Authors: Alqadeeri, Dalal A
Institution: California Stat University, Fullerton
Department: Economics
Advisor: Nick Huntington-Klein
Degree: Master of Arts in Economics
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS
Topics: Education, Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure
Countries: United States