Political Economy of Post-Secondary Education in Brazil: A comparative skill regime approach

• Grant number: 25/07624-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 30, 2025
• End date: December 29, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Public Policies
• Principal Investigator: Marta Teresa da Silva Arretche
• Grantee: Tales Almeida Mançano Fernandes
• Supervisor: Marius R Busemeyer
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universität Konstanz, Germany
• 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

This research examines the political economy of post-secondary education policies in Brazil, situated within comparative welfare state research and historical institutionalism. The study seeks to explain recent reforms in the Brazilian educational system and to theorize the Brazilian case within the skill regime framework, in comparison with OECD countries. Post-secondary education policies are understood as deeply embedded in Brazil's broader political-economic dynamics. Engaging with theories explaining cross-national variation in educational inequality-particularly the literature on skill formation regimes developed by Busemeyer (2014)-this study focuses on comparing Brazil with OECD countries using cross-national data on educational inequalities. The analysis centers on indices of stratification and commodification, as well as disparities in access to and completion of post-secondary education. The study draws on OECD data and INEP datasets on Brazilian education.