Essays in Economics of Education

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays in the economics of education. It investigates the effects of educational programs in primary and secondary schools in Brazil, as well as the effects of racial and low-income quotas in Brazilian universities. The first essay analyzes the impact of Brazil’s Multifunctional Resources Classroom Inclusion Program on the academic outcomes of disabled and non-disabled students in primary and secondary schools. School fixed effects estimations show that, in general, the Brazilian inclusion program benefits disabled students, especially those enrolled in grades 6-9 and 10-12, with no negative spillover effects onto non-disabled students. The second essay investigates the impact of the Mais Educação Extended School Day Program on academic outcomes in Brazil. The results suggest that this Brazilian longer school day program reduces the dropout rates of students in all grade levels, raises the enrollment of students in grades 6-9, but reduces the enrollment of students in grades 10-12. Moreover, the estimates indicate that the impact on grade promotion is positive for students in grades 6-9, but negative for students in lower grades. Finally, the program seems to increase repetition rates for students in all grade levels. The third essay evaluates the impact of racial and low-income quotas on the academic performance of senior students in Brazilian colleges and universities. Using a panel data approach with school fixed effects, the results show that both the proportion of racial quota students and the proportion of low-income quota students have no statistically significant impact on the academic performance of either quota or non-quota students.