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Human Capital Consequences of Expanding the Supply of Higher Education Institutions in a Developing Country

Limited post-secondary infrastructure partly explains low higher education attainment in developing countries. This paper estimates the effects of a program that expanded university access by constructing new campuses across Uruguay. Exploiting temporal and geographic variation in the rollout, we combine a dynamic two-way fixed-effects design with comprehensive administrative records. Reducing the distance to the nearest campus increased university enrollment by 34 percent relative to baseline, with especially large gains among less-privileged, first-generation students. Effects extended up to 30 kilometers and were concentrated among students from less-educated families, reducing spatial inequality. The expansion also increased secondary-school enrollment and completion, an important result given that low secondary completion remains a major barrier to higher education, while leaving tertiary completion rates unchanged. A cost-effectiveness analysis indicates substantial private and social returns, at costs comparable to a scholarship program. Overall, place-based university expansion can cost-effectively reduce spatial inequality and promote intergenerational mobility in developing countries.

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Subject

Desarrollo | Educación | Investigación socioeconómica | Jóvenes | Políticas públicas | Sector académico

País / Región

América Latina y el Caribe
Uruguay

URI

https://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/1852

Date

2021-12-17

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6.1 Documentos de trabajo en investigación socioeconómica

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Human Capital Consequences of Expanding the Supply of Higher Education Institutions in a Developing Country.pdf (2.73 MB)

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CAF

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