LAERE-EfD Seminar | Digging Deep: Resource Exploitationand Higher Education
Fecha:
Miércoles, 06 Abril 2022
Lugar:
virtual
Hora:
1:00pm
Zoom
Inscripciones aquí | Register here
Nathaly Rivera is a research fellow in the Department of Economics at the University of Sao Paulo and an incoming assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Chile. She is also a 2022 AERE Scholar. Nathaly’s research is currently centered around the role of policy interventions or market conditions in curbing environmental pollution, and on the economics of extractive industries, particularly on their impact on local welfare. Before USP, Nathaly was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Nathaly holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Resource Economics from Michigan State University.
Abstract:
Do resource-extraction booms crowd out investment in postsecondary education? We explore this question by examining higher education-related decisions of the universe of Chilean high school graduates during the 2000s commodities boom. On the one hand, we show that mineral extraction increases the students' likelihood of enrolling in postsecondary technical education. On the other hand, we document a rise in the likelihood of dropping out of college, especially in leaving a four-year professional degree program. Further analysis reveals that students dropping out come primarily from public high schools generally associated with low-income groups. An exploration of different mechanisms suggests that increasing the opportunity cost of higher education in areas with mineral extraction may drive the results. Our findings constitute strong evidence that natural resources may severely affect human capital accumulation in areas with mineral extraction, particularly among low-income groups.