How did the Great Recession affect the college degree fields? Utilizing the geographic variation in the severity of the recession in the US, I answer this question using the differences-in-differences and synthetic controls approaches. To explore these effects systematically, I categorize fields based on their sensitivity to the recession. The results show that there was a shift from recession-sensitive majors towards recession-resistant majors. The effects were immediate and larger for more local institutions. These findings suggest that students’ expectations about future labor market outcomes are affected by shocks to the current local labor market conditions.

中文翻译：

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经济大萧条对大学专业的影响

大萧条如何影响大学学位领域？利用美国经济衰退严重程度的地域差异，我使用差异差异和综合控制方法回答了这个问题。为了系统地探讨这些影响，我根据对衰退的敏感度将其分类。结果表明，从对衰退敏感的专业转向了对抗衰退的专业。效果是立竿见影的，并且对于更多的本地机构而言，效果更大。这些发现表明，学生对未来劳动力市场成果的期望受到当前当地劳动力市场状况的冲击影响。