Ana Trindade Ribeiro

Affirmative Action Outcomes: Evidence form a Law School in Brazil

Ana Carolina’s paper investigates the impact of a higher education affirmative action policy on post-college outcomes. This study uses detailed individual data on law school applicants at a well-reputed state university in Rio de Janeiro and takes advantage of the college admission process (students are ranked based on their performance on an entry exam) and the fact that law students have to take a post-college high stakes exam to be able to practice law. Our results suggest that the affirmative action policy increased significantly the probability of succeeding at the exam for beneficiaries while having a negligible impact on non-beneficiaries affected by the policy.