JESS Seminar: The Effect on Human Capital Accumulation of Choosing Maths at Post-secondary School

This paper investigates whether studying maths at post-secondary school affects students’ subsequent human capital accumulation. I exploit a reform in England that reduced the curriculum of maths in post-compulsory education as an exogenous variation in the cost of studying maths. This resulted in an increase of students graduating from school with a maths qualification (A-level). I show that having a maths qualification at age 18 increases the probability of students enrolling into undergraduate courses. This is mainly driven by enrolment into STEM degrees. Studying maths also increases the probability of enrolling into prestigious universities, of successfully completing a degree, and of getting a high final grade. Relevant differences are found between girls and boys, shedding light on the gender-gap in STEM participation.