A Political Economy of Post-Secondary Education in Brazil: Educational reforms and inequality

• Grant number: 25/07625-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: January 01, 2026
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Public Policies
• Principal Investigator: Marta Teresa da Silva Arretche
• Grantee: Tales Almeida Mançano Fernandes
• Supervisor: Rebecca Tarlau
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Stanford University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/01888-0 - A Political Economy of Post-Secondary Education in Brazil - Affirmative action, Expansion and changes in Inequalities, BP.MS

Abstract

How was redistributive reform possible in Brazilian post-secondary education? Brazil has one of the most closed post-secondary education systems compared to those of OECD countries. However, over the past few decades, numerous affirmative action programs and institutional reforms have led to substantial system expansion and a reduction in educational inequality. This project aims to advance one of the central objectives of the dissertation: understanding the historical-institutional changes in Brazilian education. We intend to conduct a literature review and document analysis of the institutional transformations in Brazilian post-secondary education, with a particular focus on recent reforms, such as affirmative action policies and the expansion of the post-secondary system-two dimensions which, we argue, have reduced inequalities in higher education by increasing access for historically disadvantaged groups. Drawing on an extensive literature review and secondary data analysis, we situate our research within the framework of historical institutionalism. By mobilizing this theoretical approach, we seek to explain how these reforms have mitigated inequalities in one of the world's most unequal higher education systems, while also assessing their successes and limitations as public policies. This research will place the Brazilian case in a comparative perspective alongside other education systems and regimes, enabling a deeper understanding of Brazilian reforms and inequalities relative to countries already examined in the comparative literature.