The Performance
of Economics Graduates over the Entire Curriculum:
Abstract
Most
studies of the determinants of understanding in economics focus on
performance in
a single course. Taking advantage of a large dataset available at the
U.S.
Naval Academy (USNA), the authors examined the performance of economics
majors
over an entire economics curriculum collectively. They found that
gender was
not a significant predictor of GPA in economics courses, but grades of
male
minority students were lower than their counterparts’. The USNA dataset
also
provides information on SAT scores and personality variables, allowing
exploration
of their influence on performance. They found that students
characterized as “judging
types” (described as decisive, organized, and self-regimented)
generally performed
better than students characterized as “perceiving types” (described as
curious,
adaptable, and spontaneous).
economic
education; performance; personality