Quotas in higher education: an academic achievement and labor market analysis

Abstract

The recent adoption of quota policies by Brazilian Universities, and the public debate on the topic makes it a relevant subject for empirical studies. The Federal University of Juiz de Fora - UFJF - one of the largest public universities in Minas Gerais, adopted the quota program in 2006. Using an individual level database for all incoming students from 2003 to 2010, this study aims to investigate (descriptively) students’ academic and labor market performance before and after the quotas. To analyze academic achievement, we control for performance of students relative to their classmates. We also separate by majors that require high entrance exam score (selective), and majors that require low entrance exam score (non-selective). To analyze performance in the labor market, we link the database provided by UFJF to the RAIS database. Preliminary results indicate that quota students do not improve their relative position in selective majors, however in non-selective majors the quota students catch-up with the non-quota students. Besides the catch-up, quota students and non-quota students are close to each other, in terms of grades. In the labor market, the results indicate that quota students tend to receive a lower salary, 18% less, compared to non-quota students. Regarding the probability of finding a job, we found that quota students are more likely to find a job during graduation, 14% higher. However, the likelihood of finding a job after graduation is lower for quota students, 13% less than for non-quota students.