Reproducibility package for Higher Education Expansion And Firm Organization
Overview
This paper investigates the impact of higher education expansion on firm performance in developing countries. It focuses on the significant expansion of higher education in Brazil between 2000 and 2012, which substantially increased higher education enrollment and graduation rates, thereby reducing the costs of hiring college-educated workers. Building on the theory of knowledge-based hierarchies and using a difference-in-differences approach and matching techniques, the paper finds that the surge in skilled labor supply led to a rise in the proportion of college-educated workers within firms in the treated microregions. This increase was accompanied by an increased probability of firms adding knowledge hierarchies, followed by a rise in productivity and an increased likelihood of export. The findings suggest that policies affecting the cost and accessibility of hiring professionals and managers can significantly influence firms’ organizational structures, with implications for firm performance and productivity.
Reproducibility Package
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Reproducibility
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows Server 2016 Standard
• Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E7-4890 v2 @ 2.80GHz 2.79 GHz (8 processors)
• Memory available: 128 GB
Runtime: 24 hours
- Access the data: The RAIS dataset is restricted and only accessible through an institutional agreement. The Brazil Importing and Exporting Firms Database requires purchase to be accessed. The BADEPI dataset is publicly accessible but not included in the reproducibility package. Users need to gain access to the data files to be able to run the code.
- Download and place the data: Once all data are obtained, copy it to the corresponding folder "Inputs".
- Run the code: Change the global path in line 14 of the do-file "0. Main" to your working directory and run it.
Since not all the data are included, the package includes the results produced during the virtual verification exercise. These files can be used to be compared against the paper exhibits. The reproducibility package also includes a log of the code run in the file "log.txt".
Data
Data access might be possible, but it requires contacting the data owners and beginning an ad-hoc request or institutional agreement.
Description
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Soares Martins Neto | World Bank | asmartins@worldbank.org |
| Xavier Cirera | World Bank | xcirera@worldbank.org |
| Marcio Cruz | International Finance Corporation | marciocruz@ifc.org |
2025-10-09
Scope and coverage
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| Brazil | BRA |
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| Modified BSD3 | https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/ |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Soares Martins Neto | World Bank | asmartins@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
2025-10-09
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