Econometrics Seminar - Debopam Bhattacharya (Cambridge)
| Dates: | 17 November 2022 |
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| Times: | 11:00 - 12:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Current University students |
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Inferring trade-offs in university admissions: evidence from Cambridge
Abstract: How do elite universities balance diversity vs academics during admissions? We develop a theory-based empirical framework to quantify this tradeoff ex-post, using data on academic outcomes following entry. We apply our framework to matched admission and exam-performance data from Cambridge University. Comparing directly admitted students and second-round admits from different demographic groups yields bounds on the magnitude of tradeoff, which (A) hold irrespective of whether we observe all applicant characteristics, and (B) require no information on rejected applicants. We find
robust evidence of higher admission standards for males in math-intensive subjects and an implied weight of at least 20% on gender diversity and at most 80% on academics in the admission decision. Female admits have lower prior math preparation; boosting this can potentially reduce existing gender gaps. Similar differences are observed between international and domestic applicants, but not for state vis-a-vis private school students, nor across gender in equally competitive non-mathematical disciplines.
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Boardroom
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester
