Sorting in higher education in Brazil

Abstract

This paper investigates students sorting in higher education in Brazil based on three merged databases: (i) the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD/IBGE), (ii) the National Exam of Student Performance (ENADE), and (iii) the National Survey of Secondary Education (ENEM). First, evidence indicates that family education level is an important factor in students access to higher education institutions (HEI). Each year of education for a student's mother increases by 1:9% p.p. (0:7% p.p.) the likelihood of a student entering a public HEI. Second, the di erence in students score (value added) for their eld-speci c ENADE scores in their rst (freshman) and third years (senior) is calculated to construct a measure of HEI quality. The results suggest that students at public institutions obtain 6:17 (15%) points larger valuedadded scores. Last, the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition and general-exam scores results suggest that only 50% of the score di erential can be explained by the observable characteristics of families and institutions. However, after including individual's ENEM scores (our proxy for talent), the model explains nearly 90% of the grade di erential between public and private HEIs. The results support that public Brazilian HEIs provide larger value-added education and attract the most talented individuals.