The United States and Brazil have histories of colonization, slavery, and racial inequalities. In addition, both countries have adjudicated cases centered on the use of affirmative action admissions policies in higher education but with differing results. The constitutional court of Brazil, the Supremo Tribunal Federal, ruled universities could…

This dissertation is a collection of three essays in Public Economics. The first chapter studies the optimal design of student loans as a lever to foster the inclusion of poor students in private colleges in Brazil. The second chapter delves into understanding the consequences of affirmative action as a tool to increase the participation of…

This dissertation studies college admissions in Brazil in the past two decades, a period characterized by a decline in the socioeconomic inequality in demand for higher education. The first chapter studies an affirmative action policy enacted at a flagship university in Brazil to lower the socioeconomic inequality in college access. I find…