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Chile's Missing Students: Dictatorship, Higher Education and Social Mobility

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Angélica Bautista

    (University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy)

  • Felipe González

    (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Instituto de Economía)

  • Luis R. Martínez

    (University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy)

  • Pablo Muñoz

    (University of California Berkeley, Department of Economics)

  • Mounu Prem

    (Universidad del Rosario, Department of Economics)

Abstract

Hostile policies towards higher education are a prominent feature of authoritarian regimes. We study the capture of higher education by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile following the 1973 coup. We find three main results: (i) cohorts that reached college age shortly after the coup experienced a large drop in college enrollment as a result of the systematic reduction in the number of openings for incoming students decreed by the regime; (ii) these cohorts had worse economic outcomes throughout the life cycle and struggled to climb up the socioeconomic ladder, especially women; (iii) children with parents in the affected cohorts also have a substantially lower probability of college enrollment. These results demonstrate that the political capture of higher education in non-democracies hinders social mobility and leads to a persistent reduction in human capital accumulation, even after democratization.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Angélica Bautista & Felipe González & Luis R. Martínez & Pablo Muñoz & Mounu Prem, 2020. "Chile's Missing Students: Dictatorship, Higher Education and Social Mobility," HiCN Working Papers 329, Households in Conflict Network.
    • Handle: RePEc:hic:wpaper:329
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    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems

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