Second-Year Field Paper:  How Does the Price of College Affect Students’ Choice of Major (co-author: Emily Cook), 07/2023~

Abstract: We illustrate two ways in which the price paid for college tuition ("net tuition'') may affect students' major choice: 1) a selection effect in which increased net tuition discourages attendance among students with high non-pecuniary returns to low-wage majors, and 2) a "switching'' effect in which all students are more likely to choose a high-wage major when net tuition is high, because the marginal utility of consumption increases with net tuition. Using fixed-effects regressions on data from public colleges from 2000-2019 and an IV strategy based on state-level appropriations budgets, we estimate a $1,723 increase in the annual wage associated with college graduates' degree fields per a $1,000 increase in net tuition. 

Job Market Paper: The Effect of Optional Practice Training on Domestic and Foreign Graduates' Labor Market Outcomes

Abstract:  While policymakers increasingly emphasize the role of foreign STEM graduates in boosting U.S. innovation and economic growth, less attention has been paid to how their expanding presence may shape the labor market choices of domestic college graduates. The Optional Practical Training (OPT), a temporary work permit that allows F-1 international students to work in the U.S. after graduation, was extended twice in 2008 and 2016. This paper examines how the extensions of OPT affected (1) the likelihood that domestic college graduates work in STEM occupations and (2) the starting wages of both foreign and domestic graduates. Using data from the Current Population Survey and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System spanning 2002 to 2023, I implement dosage difference-in-differences (dosage DD) and complement the analysis with a policy-induced instrumental variables strategy. The dosage DD results indicate that following the 2008 OPT extension, domestic college graduates were 3% less likely to work in STEM occupations. Their starting wages fell by 4%, while no significant effect was observed for the starting wages of foreign graduates. After the 2016 OPT extension, domestic graduates experienced a 1.7% decline in starting wages, whereas foreign graduates saw a 3.6% increase. This paper suggests that while an influx of foreign STEM talent generates benefits for the local economy, policymakers must also weigh its broader implications for the domestic workforce. The potential discouragement of domestic students from pursuing STEM fields might cause long-term consequences for national innovation and human capital formation.