Next Economic Analysis Seminar Series

Abstract: This paper studies inequality in access to selective university degrees in Spain, a higher-education system often viewed as egalitarian due to low tuition fees and the predominance of public universities. Despite this institutional context, access to selective degrees (such as highly selective STEM programs and prestigious degrees) remains sharply stratified by socioeconomic background. We first document trends in educational inequality in access to selective programs. We then examine whether institutional competition contributes to unequal access beyond academic ability. To do so, we use microdata from the Spanish Integrated University Information System (SIIU) and, exploiting the staggered expansion of private universities, we implement difference-in-differences and event-study designs to study how competition shapes enrollment patterns in selective university studies.