Did you know that Economics is not only about money? The effect of popularisation talks on high school students' interest in the discipline

TL;DR

This study assesses how a short, engaging talk about Economics as a social science influences high school students' interest, finding it affects students with altruistic preferences but not overall interest levels.

Contribution

It introduces a novel intervention framing Economics as an empirical social science and evaluates its heterogeneous effects on student interest.

Findings

No significant overall increase in interest

Students with altruistic preferences show increased interest

Presentation framing influences perception of Economics

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effect of a short, interactive popularisation talk on upper-secondary students' interest in Economics. This contrasts with previous research, which has primarily examined impersonal interventions to boost interest in Economics. The intervention presents Economics as an empirical social science engaged with real-world social problems. Using a cluster-randomised field experiment conducted during secondary-school campus visits in Spain, we find no statistically significant average effect on stated interest in studying Economics. However, the intervention generates substantial heterogeneity: those with stronger altruistic preferences become significantly more likely to express interest after the talk. These findings suggest that informational outreach may shape who perceives the discipline as aligned with their motivations, even if it does not substantially increase overall interest. More broadly, they indicate that presenting Economics as empirical and socially relevant may broaden the profile of those who consider the field.