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The effect of class assignment on academic performance and the labour market: Evidence from a public federal university in Brazil

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  • Henrique Z. Motte
  • Rodrigo Oliveira

Abstract

Can students' rank in the ability distribution of their class impact their academic achievement? We aim to answer this question using a discontinuity generated by a rule for the distribution of students between classes at a prestigious Brazilian university. The rule means that in almost 30 per cent of its courses, the Federal University of Bahia allocates 50 per cent of the best students in the university entrance exam to the group that starts in the first semester, and the other 50 per cent to the group that starts in the second semester.

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  • Henrique Z. Motte & Rodrigo Oliveira, 2020. "The effect of class assignment on academic performance and the labour market: Evidence from a public federal university in Brazil," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-8, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2020-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Rodrigo Zeidan & Silvio Luiz de Almeida & Inácio Bó & Neil Lewis, 2024. "Racial and income‐based affirmative action in higher education admissions: Lessons from the Brazilian experience," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 956-972, July.
    2. de Souza, Laeticia R. & de Xavier Pinto, Cristine Campos & Queiroz, Bernardo L & de Oliveira e Silva, Dimitri, 2021. "Peer effects in college: how peers' performance can influence students' academic outcomes," SocArXiv 7n6ks, Center for Open Science.

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    Keywords

    Affirmative action; Brazil; Education; Labour market; Peer effect;
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