Cristhian Molina

This paper examines program-level accreditation in higher education, analyzing student responses and institutional adjustments to this quality signal. Using administrative data from Chile (2007-2018) and a difference-in-differences approach exploiting staggered adoption, we estimate the effects of this information shock. First-time accreditation increases student demand (applications +10.2%, enrollment +7.3%), attracts stronger students, and reduces transfers, suggesting improved match quality. These effects are consistent across socioeconomic backgrounds. Investigating the signal's construction, we find no evidence of pre-accreditation increases in long-term structural inputs but document a significant rise in on-time graduation rates concentrated immediately before evaluation and not sustained post-accreditation. Effects are amplified by institutional reputation and weaker under mandatory regimes. Our findings reveal a policy trade-off: accreditation signals can enhance student sorting, even when institutional responses focus on evaluation metrics rather than long-term, structural improvements.

This study examines the impact of delayed school enrollment on college application and enrollment outcomes in Chile using a quasi-experimental design based on first-grade enrollment age cutoffs. Our findings reveal that students who enroll in first grade one year later are approximately 2% more likely to apply to and enroll in college. Additionally, a one-year delay in enrollment is associated with a higher high school GPA by 0.08 standard deviations. The local average treatment effect estimates on standardized test scores show no statistical difference in math scores and an increase of 0.05 standard deviations in verbal scores, particularly for students born after the July 1st cutoff. These results are more pronounced among female students. These findings suggest that policy adjustments to school entry age can enhance educational outcomes and equity, with a particular emphasis on supporting younger and male students to close achievement gaps.