Introductory Economics: Gender, Majors, and Future Performance

Abstract: By investigating the exam scores of introductory economics in a business school in Taiwan between 2008 and 2019, we find three sets of results: First, we find no significant difference between genders in the exam scores. Second, students' majors are significantly associated with their exam scores, which likely reflects their academic ability measured at college admission. Third, the exam scores are strong predictors of students' future academic performance.