TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Mello, Ursula
AU  - Melo, Ana Paula
AU  - Santos, Alei
        TI  - Shifting Pathways: Displacement, Substitution, and the Equilibrium Effects of Preferential College Admissions
        PY  - 2026/Aug/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18880
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18880
        AB  - Admission policies can reshape educational pathways before college entry by changing opportunities and incentives to invest. We study these responses using Brazil’s 2012 Federal Quota Law, which expanded reserved seats for underrepresented students in elite public universities. Exploiting variation induced by pre-existing quota policies, we implement matched difference-in-differences and follow students through college completion. We find that targeted students increase high-school completion, exam participation, and college enrollment. In contrast, non-targeted students substitute
toward private institutions rather than leave higher education and become more likely to complete college. Together, these responses reveal anticipatory adjustments and system-wide reallocation across higher education institutions.
        KW  - affirmative action
KW  - college admissions
KW  - human capital investment
KW  - educational attainment
KW  - displacement and reallocation
        ER  -