Alei Fernandes Santos

Alei Fernandes Santos

PhD Candidate at São Paulo School of Economics and Researcher at FGV EESP CLEAR

Publications

Do Disadvantaged Students Benefit from Attending Classes with More Skilled Colleagues? Evidence From a Top University in Brazil (joint with Rodrigo Oliveira and Henrique Motte)

Published in Labour Economics, 2024

Lower performance and mismatch – a situation where students would be better off if not enrolled in an elite university or prestigious major – is one of the main concerns surrounding affirmative action (AA) policies in higher education. Miss-perception about the major and lack of proper preparation are appointed as the main causes of these problems. However, what if other causes explain the affirmative action students’ lower performance? Using two rich administrative data sets and a rule of admission at one top university in Brazil that splits students into two classes, we apply a regression discontinuity design to study the effect of class allocation on academic performance and labor market outcomes. The last student of the first class will have higher-ability peers but a lower ordinal rank than the first student of the second class. These effects usually play in different directions. The main results suggest that affirmative action students in technology and health sciences majors are negatively impacted by being the last student in the first class.

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Bridging the Gap: Mismatch Effects and Catch-Up Dynamics in a Brazilian College Affirmative Action (joint with Rodrigo Oliveira and Edson Severnini)

Published in Economics of Education Review, 2024

Abstract: Affirmative action in higher education can lead to mismatch, where students admitted through preferential treatment struggle academically due to inadequate preparation before college. Although some students may face initial challenges, by providing access to quality education for talented individuals who might have otherwise been overlooked due to systemic disadvantages, these programs may enable students to bridge the gap and catch up to their peers. In this study, we examine the effects of a quota-type affirmative action policy on gaps in college outcomes between potential beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Using comprehensive administrative data from a leading Brazilian university which implemented affirmative action in 2005, we find that compared to their non-quota peers, potential quota beneficiaries are less likely to progress smoothly through college and less likely to graduate, a result that is mostly driven by those who would not be admitted to the university otherwise. Notably, however, most of these differences shrink as the students progress through college, suggesting a catch-up effect between those groups. While potential quota students initially face challenges, resulting in a reduced course load in their early college years, they compensate by taking more credits in later years to ultimately graduate.

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Working Papers

Work in Progress