eprintid: 10137788 rev_number: 21 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/13/77/88 datestamp: 2021-11-08 11:54:05 lastmod: 2022-01-24 07:10:16 status_changed: 2021-11-08 11:54:05 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Morando, G title: Peer gender and STEM specialization ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B16 divisions: B14 divisions: J81 keywords: Female participation in STEM, peer effects, school curricular reform, degree choice note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: This paper shows that students are less likely to specialize in mathematics when exposed to a high share of male peers. I exploit a curricular reform that incentivized students to obtain a mathematics qualification post-16. I show that, for those students affected by the reform, the higher the share of same-gender classmates, the higher the likelihood of obtaining a mathematics qualification for boys, and the lower the likelihood for girls. I interpret this as suggestive evidence that one’s perceived ability in mathematics, a boy-dominated subject, decreases when the share of male classmates increases. This further affects STEM participation in higher education. date: 2021 date_type: published publisher: Informa UK Limited official_url: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2020.1796909 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1897398 doi: 10.1080/13504851.2020.1796909 lyricists_name: Morando, Greta lyricists_id: GMORA38 actors_name: Morando, Greta actors_id: GMORA38 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Applied Economics Letters volume: 28 number: 12 pagerange: 1041-1045 issn: 1466-4291 citation: Morando, G; (2021) Peer gender and STEM specialization. Applied Economics Letters , 28 (12) pp. 1041-1045. 10.1080/13504851.2020.1796909 <https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2020.1796909>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10137788/1/peer_gender_stem__morando_2020___revised2.pdf