Economics Department Webinar Series 01/2020

Date: 25 August 2020, Tuesday
Time: 3.00 pm - 4.00 pm
Venue: Via Zoom

The Department of Economics, School of Business cordially invites you to our first Brown Bag Series for the year on the 25th of August 2020 presented by Dr Pauline Khoo, Monash University Malaysia titled "If You Extend It, They Will Come: The Effects of the STEM OPT Extension".

Synopsis

I evaluate how the Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension for STEM graduates impacts enrollment decisions of foreign students into STEM fields in the US. Using high-quality administrative data on higher education enrollment in Ohio, I find that the OPT extension increases the likelihood of foreign sudents' enrollment in STEM fields. I also examine whether the extension of OPT affected degree completion. Results indicate that there is a higher probability of completion after the extension. These results suggested that the OPT program has the potential to change the skill composition of students in higher education and can also be a solution to the STEM shortage in the labor market.

Speaker

Dr Pauline Khoo is a lecturer of Economics in Monash Business School at Monash University Malaysia. Dr Khoo received her Ph.D and M.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her B.Sc. in Mathematics from Hollins University. Dr Khoo's areas of research interest are the determinants and consequences of higher education and its link to the labor market.