Essays in Economics of Education A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Claudia Bueno Rocha Vidigal IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Paul Glewwe, Adviser February 2019 © Claudia Bueno Rocha Vidigal 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, professor Paul Glewwe, for his continuous support, guidance and encouragement. I had the great fortune to have worked with him and I am deeply indebted to his patient advice over the years. I am also grateful to my committee members, professors Deborah Levison, Joe Ritter, and Marc Bellemare, for their thoughtful comments and suggestions on my dissertation. I am also thankful for having had the opportunity to meet amazing colleagues and professors in my doctoral program. This long process would not have been possible without their support and friendship. I am profoundly grateful to my family, especially my parents, who have been a great source of support throughout my academic journey. Lastly, but most importantly, my husband and classmate, Vinicius Vidigal, deserves heartfelt thanks for his love, encouragement, and support. i DEDICATION To my mother, Katia Lucila Bueno, and my grandmother, Maria Angela Sotovia Bueno, whose love, encouragement and support made all this possible. ii 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. iii CONTENTS List of Tables……………………………………………………………………… vi List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….. ix 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………............... 1 2 Inclusive Education and Academic Outcomes: The Impact of Brazil’s Multifunctional Resources Classroom Inclusion Program…………………….. 3 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 3 2.2 The Brazilian Multifunctional Resources Classroom Inclusion Program………………………………………………………………… 6 2.3 Data and Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………. 8 2.4 Empirical Framework……………………………………………………... 12 2.4.1 Equations for Estimation……………………………………………. 13 2.4.2 Identification Strategy………………………………………………. 16 2.5 Results…………………………………………………………………….. 17 2.5.1 Main Results………………………………………………………… 18 2.5.2 Impact by Time of Program Adoption and Cumulative Impact……… 2 0 2.5.3 Robustness Checks………………………………………………….. 22 2.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 23 3 Impact of the Mais Educação Extended School Day Program on Academic Outcomes in Brazil……………………………………………………………... 42 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 42 3.2 Description of the Mais Educação Extended School Day Program………… 45 3.3 Data and Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………... 46 3.4 Empirical Strategy………………………………………………………….. 50 3.4.1 Estimation and Identification Strategies……………………………… 50 3.5 Results……………………………………………………………………… 55 3.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 60 4 Affirmative Action in Brazilian Universities: The Impact of Racial and Low- Income Quotas on Academic Performance……………………………………... 75 iv 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 75 4.2 Racial and Low-Income Quotas and the Admission Process in Brazilian Universities………………………………………………………………... 79 4.3 Data and Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………... 82 4.4 Empirical Strategy………………………………………………………….. 85 4.4.1 Estimation and Identification Strategies…………………………….... 86 4.5 Results……………………………………………………………………… 89 4.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 92 5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 99 References………………………………………………………………………… 100 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………….. 107 Appendix B……………………………………………………………………….. 108 v LIST OF TABLES 2.1 Number of Schools in Brazil’s School Census from 1999 to 2015……………... 25 2.2 Descriptive Statistics for Eventually Treated and Never Treated Schools…....... 26 2.3 Estimates of the Program Impact on Log of Enrollment of Disabled and Non- Disabled Students: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999- 2015…………………………………………………….................................... 28 2.4 Estimates of the Program Impact on Log of Enrollment of Disabled and Non- Disabled Students at the Municipio-Level: Results for Schools with Grades 1- 5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2015…………………………………………………... 28 2.5 Estimates of the Program Impact on Dropout, Repetition, and Grade Promotion Rates: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2015……….. 29 2.6 Estimates of the Program Impact on Log of Enrollment of Disabled and Non- Disabled Students by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Impact: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2015…………………………... 30 2.7 Estimates of the Program Impact on Dropout Rate by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Impact: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999- 2015…………………………………………………………………………… 31 2.8 Estimates of the Program Impact on Repetition Rate by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Impact: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999- 2015…………………………………………………………………………… 32 2.9 Estimates of the Program Impact on Grade Promotion Rate by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Impact: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2015………………………………………………………….. 33 2.10 Placebo Test: Estimates of the Program Impact for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9, and 10-12, 1999-2005 (Schools with Program in 2007 Assigned to 2005) 34 2.11 Robustness Check: Estimates of the Program Impact after Excluding the Smallest Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9, and 10-12, 1999-2015…………….… 35 3.1 Number of Schools Participating in the Mais Educação Extended School Day Program, 2008-2014…………………………………………………………... 62 vi 3.2 Number of Schools in Brazil’s School Census from 1999 to 2014……………... 62 3.3 Descriptive Statistics for Eventually Treated and Never Treated Schools……... 63 3.4 Estimates of the Program Impact on Log of Enrollment: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2014…………………………………... 64 3.5 Estimates of the Program Impact on Log of Enrollment at the Municipio-Level: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2014………………. 64 3.6 Estimates of the Program Impact on Dropout, Repetition, and Grade Promotion Rates: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2014……….. 65 3.7 Estimates of the Program Impact on Log of Enrollment by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Effects: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2014…………………………………………………………………….. 66 3.8 Estimates of the Program Impact on Dropout Rate by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Effects: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999- 2014…………………………………………………………………………… 67 3.9 Estimates of the Program Impact on Repetition Rate by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Effects: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999- 2014……………………………………………………………………………. 68 3.10 Estimates of the Program Impact on Grade Promotion Rate by Time of Adoption and Cumulative Effects: Results for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2014………………………………………………………... 69 3.11 Placebo Test: Estimates of the Program Impact for Schools with Grades 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12, 1999-2007 (Schools with Program in 2008 Assigned to 2007) 70 4.1 Definition of Subsamples and Corresponding Fields…………………………... 93 4.2 Number of Colleges in Brazil’s Higher Education Census, 2010-2015………... 93 4.3 Number of Senior College Students under Racial Quota: Enrolled Students in Traditional (Non-Distance) Public and Private Learning, 2010-2015…………. 94 4.4 Number of Senior College Students under Low-Income Quota: Enrolled Students in Traditional (Non-Distance) Public and Private Learning, 2010- 2015…………………………………………………………………………... 94 vii 4.5 Number of Colleges with at Least One Quota Senior Student, 2010-2015……... 94 4.6 ENADE Test Scores for Colleges from Groups A, B, and C, Racial Quota……. 95 4.7 ENADE Test Scores for Colleges from Groups A, B, and C, Low-Income Quota…………………………………………………………………………. 95 4.8 Estimates of the Impact of Racial and Low-Income Quotas on Academic Performance on the