Centralized Admissions, Affirmative Action, and Access of Low-Income Students to Higher Education

Ursula Mello

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 166-97

Abstract: I analyze how two reforms, introduced to expand college access in Brazil, impacted enrollments of low-SES students. The first policy centralized applications in a nationwide platform (SISU), and the second expanded affirmative action quotas (AA) to a uniform share of 50 percent of vacancies offered by degree. Results show that SISU changes enrollment decisions of high-SES students, crowding out low-SES groups from the least competitive degrees disproportionately. In contrast, AA increases enrollments of low-SES individuals not only mechanically but also through behavioral responses. Finally, their interaction creates a complementary effect, protecting the low-SES groups from the crowding-out of centralization.

JEL-codes: I23 I24 I28 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190639

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