On October 9, our Lab researcher Isabela Múnevar presented her paper “Catholic Schools and Student Performance: Evidence from Chile’s School-Admission Lottery” at an academic seminar organized by the Faculty of Management and Economics at Universidad Diego Portales.
In her presentation, Múnevar examined the impact of attending Catholic versus secular voucher or public schools on students’ academic outcomes in Chile. Using data from school admission lotteries, her study identifies causal effects showing that students who attend Catholic schools are more likely to take the college entry exam, perform above the national average in math and reading, and are more likely to apply to and be accepted into higher education.
However, the results also reveal important differences across groups. Boys with lower baseline academic performance exhibit higher dropout rates, while girls tend to benefit the most academically, although they are less likely to pursue STEM majors. The study further highlights that Catholic schools display stricter discipline and greater parental involvement, characteristics often associated with high-performing charter schools.
During the discussion, participants expressed great interest in the findings and raised thought-provoking questions such as whether the differences in outcomes are explained by school characteristics or by peer effects from classmates who had already been enrolled in those schools.
“I received very positive feedback; participants found the topic fascinating and were particularly interested in understanding why Catholic schools perform better under the same lottery-based admission system,” noted Múnevar.
