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Dictatorship, Higher Education, and Social Mobility

Author

Listed:
  • María Angélica Bautista
  • Felipe González
  • Luis R. Martínez
  • Pablo Muñoz
  • Mounu Prem

Abstract

We study the effect of political regime change on higher education and its distributional and political consequences. We focus on the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile. The Pinochet dictatorship's aims of political control and fiscal conservatism led to a large reduction in the number of openings for new students across all universities. Individuals that reached college age shortly after the coup experienced a sharp decline in college enrollment, had worse labor market outcomes throughout the life cycle and struggled to climb up the socioeconomic ladder. This contraction of higher education disproportionately affected applicants from less affluent backgrounds and plausibly contributed to the increase in inequality observed under Pinochet. We further show that individuals exposed to reduced access to college registered to vote at higher rates for the 1988 plebiscite that triggered Chile's democratic transition and we provide suggestive evidence that they increasingly voted against Pinochet.

Suggested Citation

  • María Angélica Bautista & Felipe González & Luis R. Martínez & Pablo Muñoz & Mounu Prem, 2025. "Dictatorship, Higher Education, and Social Mobility," Journal of Historical Political Economy, now publishers, vol. 4(4), pages 509-545, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:jnlhpe:115.00000083
    DOI: 10.1561/115.00000083
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    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:osf:socarx:eyw2a_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. repec:osf:socarx:gz934_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Javier Cortes Orihuela & Juan D. Díaz & Pablo Gutiérrez Cubillos & Pablo A. Troncoso, 2023. "Intergenerational earnings persistence and the provision of public goods: evidence from chile’s constitutional process," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(1), pages 47-81, March.
    5. Bautista, María Angélica & Gonzalez, Felipe & Martinez, Luis R. & Muñoz, Pablo & Prem, Mounu, 2022. "The Intergenerational Transmission of College: Evidence from the 1973 Coup in Chile," SocArXiv eyw2a, Center for Open Science.
    6. Bautista, María Angélica & González, Felipe & Martínez, Luis R. & Muñoz, Pablo & Prem, Mounu, 2023. "The intergenerational transmission of higher education: Evidence from the 1973 coup in Chile," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    7. Bautista, María Angélica & González, Felipe & Martinez, Luis R. & Muñoz, Pablo & Prem, Mounu, 2020. "Does Higher Education Reduce Mortality? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Chile," SocArXiv 5s2px, Center for Open Science.
    8. Zhang, Kexin, 2023. "The long-term impact of higher education: Evidence from the Gaokao reinstatement in China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Juan Felipe Riaño & Felipe Valencia Caicedo, 2024. "Collateral Damage: The Legacy of the Secret War in Laos," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(661), pages 2101-2140.
    10. Gonzalez, Felipe & Coy, Felipe & Prem, Mounu & von Dessauer, Cristine, 2022. "Uncertainty from dictatorship to democracy: Evidence from business communications," SocArXiv gz934, Center for Open Science.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development

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