Essays in the Economics of Education

This thesis is composed of two chapters in the economics of education. The first chapter examines how Chinese import competition affected U.S. students choosing college majors between 1990 to 2014. Utilizing the geographic variation in import competition exposure, I find that the effects on college major choices are different across degree levels and measurements. I first show that commuting zones exposed to higher Chinese import competition had higher shares of associate degrees awarded in STEM and social science majors while lowering the business and STEM major shares in bachelor's degrees awarded. Given that Chinese import competition mainly decreased U.S. manufacturing employment, I then create a "manufacturing-related" major and show that Chinese import competition reduced the "manufacturing-related" major share at the bachelor's degree level but not at the associate degree level. I also find that effects are more prominent among female students. Next, I show that the effects on college completion and most college major level outcomes are insignificant and positive. Thus, I conclude that the reduction in the "manufacturing-related major" share at the bachelor's degree level comes from relatively more students choosing majors that prepare them for jobs in the non-manufacturing sector. The second chapter focuses on the effect of teacher preference for teaching local students on non-local students' educational and non-test score outcomes. Using a national representative Chinese middle school survey data and relying on the student-teacher random assignment rule as the identification strategy, I show that being assigned to a subject teacher with a preference for teaching classrooms with only or a majority of local students reduces non-local students' subject test scores by 0.09 of a standard deviation. Such effects are larger among 9th-grade students who feel more difficult to learn the subject and have fewer interactions with the subject teacher during class. However, I do not find significant impacts of having a homeroom teacher with such preference on non-local students' non-test score outcomes, including cognitive evaluation, emotional experience, school activities, or confidence about the future. If any, it reduced non-local students' sense of belonging. For example, they are less likely to agree that the classroom has a good atmosphere.