Project

Showing Life Opportunities: Increasing opportunity-driven entrepreneurship and STEM careers through online courses in schools

IGL Grant Funded Trials

Youth often decide what to study with limited exposure to many high-paying careers. In-person visits from role models can change behaviour but are difficult to scale and typically expose youth to only one person in one career. We test the impact of exposing youth to multiple role models, in both science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and entrepreneurship careers, using online video interviews to intervene at large scale in a randomized trial with 29,243 students in 813 Ecuadorian high schools. Girls treated with multiple role models reduce their likelihood of choosing a STEM major, increasing enrolment in business majors instead. Boys also shift their major choice away from STEM and move towards other majors such as agriculture. The contrast between fields appears to shift youth away from what they see as the more challenging career and reinforces girls’ stereotypical college major choice.

First paper

Second paper

Summary of findings

Discussion of findings

Key facts

Stage: Published
Year: 2023, 2026
Location: Ecuador

Project team

Team

Igor Asanov

Senior Researcher

University of Kassel
Anastasiya-Maria Asanov
Thomas Åstebro

Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

HEC Paris
Guido Buenstorf

Professor, and Executive Vice Director of INCHER

University of Kassel
Bruno Crépon
Francisco Flores Taipe
David McKenzie

Lead Economist

World Bank
Mona Mensmann
Mathis Schulte