The 'Discouraged-Business-Major Hypothesis' : Policy Implications

The "Discouraged-Business-Major" hypothesis is the phenomenon where students who are screened out of the business curriculum often make an economics major their alternative choice. The paper explains how the discouraged business majors were identified from those economics majors in the Department of Economics at Colorado State University. A data set was compiled which was used to assess the validity of the 'discouraged-business-major hypothesis' and to evaluate the potential implications of this phenomenon for the department. The data set was compiled using the transcripts from all economics majors at Colorado State University who graduated during the time span from spring 1999 to spring 2005, a total of 436 students over 19 terms. Important policy implications are derived from this research, which may be applicable to other economics departments