What You Don't Know Might Deter You: The Effect of Information Provision on Minority Retention in Undergraduate Economics
Abstract
This large-scale randomized controlled trial tests whether a low-touch information intervention in an undergraduate Principles of Microeconomics course can help overcome barriers to entry in undergraduate Economics for underrepresented minority (URM) students. I find that providing students with information about potential careers, income, research topics, and diversity in the field of Economics increases the likelihood of enrolling in a subsequent Economics course for URM students by around 9.9 percentage points and that the information induces primarily lower-performing students to enroll. These results suggest that information may have the potential to overcome barriers imposed by low course performance in introductory Economics courses.
Anjali Pai, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown
I am an applied microeconomist with interests in education policy, labor policy, and improving equity for disadvantaged groups. I currently work as a Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, where I study the relationship between postsecondary pathways and labor market outcomes.