Gender Pattern on Success in Economics Classes

Abstract

To analyze the effect of gender on learning outcome in economics classes, seven hundred and forty-four principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics students are surveyed at two public universities. After controlling factors such as number of hours worked, SAT, number of missed classes, being a junior, and number of economics courses taken, etc., our main empirical result reveals that gender is a significant factor contributing to learning success as measured by grades. Contrary to past empirical studies that often showed male students excel in economics classes, we find female students seem to perform better than male students, indicating a changing gender pattern.