This paper examines the impact of optional practical training reforms on student representation in US undergraduate economics programs. As of 2023, economics degrees, designated as STEM by the US Department of Homeland Security, comprise around 48% of all US undergraduate economics degrees conferred annually, up from 2% in 2016. Using IPEDS completions data from 1997 to 2023 and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, this paper finds that STEM designation significantly increases the number and percentage of undergraduate economics degrees awarded to women and nonresident students but has mixed effects on the number and percentage of degrees conferred to underrepresented minority students.
Underwood et al. (Fri,) studied this question.