College Major Choice and Ability: Why is General Ability not Enough?

43 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2011

See all articles by Tjasa Logaj

Tjasa Logaj

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics, Institute for Economic Research

Saao Polanec

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics

Date Written: January 10, 2011

Abstract

The choice of college major is one of the most important decisions students make. In this paper we study the impact of ability on college major choice, using a data set for full-time students enrolled in four-year business and economics programs offered by the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.

We distinguish between general and major-specific ability, which measure different dimensions of cognitive ability. We show that both measures are important in explaining individual decisions and that misleading results can follow from observing only commonly employed general ability.

We also find important gender differences as males are more likely to base their major choice on the ability to complete the coursework, while females are more likely to decide according to unobserved preferences.

Keywords: College Majors, Ability, Gender Differences

JEL Classification: I23

Suggested Citation

Logaj, Tjasa and Polanec, Saso, College Major Choice and Ability: Why is General Ability not Enough? (January 10, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1752862 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1752862

Tjasa Logaj (Contact Author)

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics, Institute for Economic Research ( email )

Kardeljeva ploscad 17
Ljubljana, 1000
Slovenia

Saso Polanec

University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Kardeljeva ploscad 17
Ljubljana, 1000
Slovenia