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Affirmative action with no major switching: Evidence from a top university in Brazil

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  • Rodrigo Oliveira
  • Alei Santos
  • Edson Severnini

Abstract

Affirmative action in higher education may lead to mismatch, a situation where students benefiting from preferential admission struggle with their college-level work because of poor pre-college academic preparation. In the United States, those students can switch majors if they underperform in the originally intended major. Only in the extreme may they drop out. What happens when major switching is not allowed?

Suggested Citation

  • Rodrigo Oliveira & Alei Santos & Edson Severnini, 2022. "Affirmative action with no major switching: Evidence from a top university in Brazil," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-31, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2022-31
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2022-31-affirmative-action-with-no-major-switching-Brazil.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Card & Alan B. Krueger, 2005. "Would the Elimination of Affirmative Action Affect Highly Qualified Minority Applicants? Evidence from California and Texas," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(3), pages 416-434, April.
    2. Sandra E. Black & Jeffrey T. Denning & Jesse Rothstein, 2023. "Winners and Losers? The Effect of Gaining and Losing Access to Selective Colleges on Education and Labor Market Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 26-67, January.
    3. Ben Backes, 2012. "Do Affirmative Action Bans Lower Minority College Enrollment and Attainment?: Evidence from Statewide Bans," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(2), pages 435-455.
    4. Surendrakumar Bagde & Dennis Epple & Lowell Taylor, 2016. "Does Affirmative Action Work? Caste, Gender, College Quality, and Academic Success in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1495-1521, June.
    5. Todd Stinebrickner & Ralph Stinebrickner, 2012. "Learning about Academic Ability and the College Dropout Decision," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(4), pages 707-748.
    6. Astorne-Figari, Carmen & Speer, Jamin D., 2019. "Are changes of major major changes? The roles of grades, gender, and preferences in college major switching," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 75-93.
    7. Bertrand, Marianne & Hanna, Rema & Mullainathan, Sendhil, 2010. "Affirmative action in education: Evidence from engineering college admissions in India," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1-2), pages 16-29, February.
    8. Bordon, Paola & Fu, Chao, 2015. "College-Major Choice to College-Then-Major Choice," MPRA Paper 79643, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Paola Bordon & Chao Fu, 2015. "College-Major Choice to College-Then-Major Choice," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1247-1288.
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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. Xun, Yang, 2024. "Corruption and Talent Allocation," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1526, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

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    Keywords

    Affirmative action; Higher education; Brazil;
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