Liberal arts or business: Does the location of the economics department alter the major?

The authors examine whether the administrative location of an economics dep artment in a business versus liberal arts school alters the character of th e economics program provided to undergraduate majors. To test this hypothes is, they constructed a curricular character index (CCI) based on a detailed accounting of assorted dimensions of an economics major. The CCI served as the dependent variable in a regression model that controlled for other ins titutional attributes that could influence curricular character. The sample of 148 primarily undergraduate institutions was selected to impose some se mblance of a ceteris paribus environment. Contrary to earlier findings, the empirical results strongly indicate that the administrative location of an economics department in business versus liberal arts schools significantly changes the character of the program offered to majors.