Finance Seminar（2019-10)

Topic: The Effect of Superstar Firms on College Major Choice

Speaker: Dong Lou, London School of Economics and CEPR

Time: Wednesday, 20 March, 10:00-11:30

Location: Room 217, Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

We study the effect of superstar firms on an important human capital decision college students' major choice. The occurrence of superstar performers in an industry is followed by a significant rise in the number of college students choosing to major in related fields. This effect is more pronounced among top universities in states where the superstars' industry has a significant presence, and remains significant after controlling for lagged industry returns and wages. The tendency to follow superstars, however, results in a temporary over-supply of human capital, as evidenced by the lower real wage earned by entry-level employees when students enter the job market. Further evidence from the National Survey of College Graduates shows that this adverse impact on career outcomes can last for decades.

Introduction:

Dong Lou is an Associate Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics, an Associate Editor of Management Science, and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Professor Lou received a PhD in Finance from Yale University in 2009, and earned an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Columbia University in 2004. Professor Lou has published on a wide range of topics in top finance journals, and has received many awards for his research.

//personal.lse.ac.uk/loud/

Your participation is warmly welcomed!