CSMGEP Dissertation Session
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (CST)
- Chair: Neville Francis, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Do Students and Parents Prefer Same-Gender Teachers? Evidence from an Online Tutoring Platform
Abstract
The tendency for individuals to associate with others of the same gender (known as gender homophily), has been found to be applicable in a variety of social networks. This paper studies whether this gender preference extends to the classroom. In other words, do students prefer to work with teachers of the same gender? To add to the thin literature on student preferences for having a teacher of the same gender, I use innovative data from an online tutoring marketplace. I find that female tutors are 14pp more likely than male tutors to match with a female student, even after controlling for virtually all observable tutor characteristics. The gap balloons to 24pp when parents are more involved in the match-making process. Out of all academic subjects, gender matching is greatest when math is the subject being taught. I also find evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic increased gender homophily in student-tutor matches by changing the composition of students who use the platform.Examining State R&D Policies and Federal Grant Opportunities: Analyzing the Effect on Small High-Tech Businesses from Socially Disadvantaged Groups
Abstract
This paper examines how state R&D policy affects federal grant opportunities for high-tech startups from socially disadvantaged groups. I examine how state research and development (R&D) tax credits for startups owned by women and ethnic minorities affect engagement in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which is explicitly charged with encouraging minority and disadvantaged participation in technological innovation. Employing a doubly robust, staggered difference-in-differences estimator, I leverage variation in the implementation of state R&D tax credit programs to examine the impact on all startups, as well as the differential effects by race and gender. The results suggest that the impact of R&D policies on SBIR success for both underrepresented and non-underrepresented businesses varies by state, with underrepresented entrepreneurs showing post-implementation trends similar to non-underrepresented entrepreneurs.International Production Networks and Economic Growth: Evidence from the U.S. Semiconductor Industry
Abstract
This paper investigates the extent and the mechanisms through which a shock to the semiconductor industry impacts U.S. economic growth. I use a historical perspective and network approach to examine the evolution of semiconductor sector’s role in the structural changes of the U.S. economy during the period of 1967-2012. Exploiting detailed input output tables from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and data on 364 industries from NBER CES manufacturing database, I combine network tools and a dynamic panel estimation to quantify the importance of semiconductor on U.S. GDP. My findings suggest that a one standard deviation shock to the semiconductor productivity would induce a 6% change of U.S. aggregate output. The supply effect of semiconductor’s role in the intersectoral linkages of U.S. economy explain 98% of this impact while the demand effect is insignificant. I identify and quantify semiconductor’s scale, scope, and speed effects in the network as the mechanisms driving its growing influence on U.S. economy. My study contributes to the vision to increase U.S. domestic production of semiconductor.Discussant(s)
Maxim Massenkoff
,
Naval Postgraduate School
Matthew Notowidigdo
,
University of Chicago
Scott Stern
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kim Ruhl
,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
JEL Classifications
- E0 - General
- J0 - General