1.2 Fundamental Data Source: SEDLAC

Box 1.2 Fundamental Data Source: SEDLAC

Much of the analysis in this book draws on household survey microdata for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The data come from the Socio-Economic Database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEDLAC). This database was constructed by the Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies at the Universidad National de La Plata (Argentina) and the World Bank’s Poverty Group for the LAC region. Since the raw microdata from household surveys are not uniform across LAC countries, SEDLAC harmonizes them to provide information that is comparable across countries and over time, “by using similar definitions of variables in each country/year, and by applying consistent methods of processing the data” (CEDLAS and World Bank 2014).

The harmonized data are extremely useful for many analyses. Indeed, Ferreyra et al. (2017) rely heavily on these data to study higher education in LAC. Nonetheless, the usefulness of these data is limited for the present book, because the harmonized data remove the distinction between bachelor’s programs and short-cycle programs (SCPs), lumping them together under a single higher education category. As a result, it is not clear whether a higher education student is enrolled in an SCP or completed an SCP. To overcome this obstacle, the book uses the raw, unharmonized data and relies on the country-specific questionnaires in the household surveys to identify SCP enrollment and SCP degrees.

Still, a couple of issues remain. First, the original survey does not separately identify SCP enrollment in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala, or SCP graduates in Brazil, the Dominican Republican, and Guatemala. Thus, the book uses administrative data whenever possible (see annex 1A). Second, the data do not reveal whether individuals have graduated from higher education in Bolivia, Mexico, and Nicaragua, but rather the type of program (SCP or bachelor’s) in which they were enrolled and for how many years. Completion is imputed based on the number of years enrolled in higher education, with different windows for SCP and bachelor’s completion.

Stylized fact 1. LAC has experienced a large, rapid expansion of higher education since the early 2000s.

In the new millennium, gross enrollment rates in higher education have grown in every region of the world (figure 1.3). Their worldwide average has doubled, going from 19 percent in 2000 to 38 percent in 2017. Growth over the same period was even greater in LAC, where the gross enrollment rate more than doubled, from 23 to 52 percent (Ferreyra et al. 2017).

Stylized fact 2. LAC has relatively few students enrolled in SCPs.

On average, 24 percent of students in higher education in the world are currently enrolled in SCPs (figure 1.4). The share of higher education students who are enrolled in SCPs (namely, the SCP enrollment share) declined in almost all regions between 2000 and 2017. In other words, in the recent worldwide expansion of higher education, enrollment in bachelor’s programs has grown more than enrollment in SCPs.

Figure 1.3 Higher Education Gross Enrollment Rate, 2000, 2010, and 2017

Percent 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

World East Asia and Pacific Europe andCentral AsiaLatin America andthe CaribbeanMiddle East andNorth Africa North America South Asia Sub-SaharanAfrica 2000 2010 2017

Source: World Development Indicators, based on data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Note: For each region, the gross enrollment rate corresponds to the weighted average across the region’s countries.

Figure 1.4 Students Enrolled in Short-Cycle Programs Relative to Total Higher Education Enrollment, 2000, 2010, and 2017

Percent 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

World East Asia and Pacific Europe andCentral AsiaLatin America andthe CaribbeanMiddle East andNorth AfricaNorth America South Asia Sub-SaharanAfrica

2000 2010 2017

Source: World Bank calculations based on data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the National Center for Education Statistics for the United States (2000 and 2010). Note: The figure shows the percentage of students enrolled in short-cycle programs (SCPs) (ISCED 5) relative to total enrollment in higher education (ISCED 5-8), regardless of age. Total enrollment includes postgraduate programs. Each region shows the weighted average of the corresponding countries.

Despite this worldwide decline, the current SCP enrollment share varies widely across regions. Among the seven regions depicted in figure 1.4, East Asia and the Pacific has the highest SCP enrollment share (34 percent), while LAC has the second lowest (9 percent). Further, LAC’s SCP enrollment share has almost halved since 2000, and it has fallen in about two-thirds of LAC countries (figure 1.5).

Stylized fact 3. SCPs tend to attract disadvantaged, nontraditional students.

When choosing a higher education program, students sort into SCPs and bachelor’s programs depending on multiple personal factors, such as socioeconomic background, preferences, residential location, and family commitments. Sorting also depends on the availability of bachelor’s programs and SCPs in their area of residence and on their ability to move to another location. As a result of sorting, SCP students are, on average, different from bachelor’s students. SCP students are more likely to be female, are slightly older, and are less likely to reside in urban locations (table 1.1).9 They are also more likely to be married and to work while studying, although those who work are less likely to be full-time workers. Further, SCP students are more likely than bachelor’s students to be in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution and substantially less likely to be in the top 20 percent. In a word, SCP students are more disadvantaged that students at bachelor’s programs.

Figure 1.5 Higher Education Students in Short-Cycle Programs, circa 2004 and 2018

Percent 45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Peru ChileUruguayBoliviaColombiaArgentinaParaguay Latin America andthe CaribbeanEl SalvadorBrazilMexicoNicaraguaHondurasEcuadorCosta RicaPanama

Circa 2004 Circa 2018

Source: World Bank calculations based on the Socio-Economic Database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEDLAC) and administrative data for Brazil and Colombia (see annex 1A). Note: Blue (orange) bars show the percentage of individuals ages 18–24 years who are enrolled in an SCP relative to all individuals ages 18–24 years enrolled in higher education in 2004 (2018). The data are for the following years: Argentina (2003, 2018), Bolivia (2005, 2018), Brazil (2004, 2018), Chile (2006, 2017), Colombia (2004, 2018), Costa Rica (2004, 2018), Ecuador (2008, 2018), El Salvador (2003, 2018), Honduras (2005, 2016), Mexico (2004, 2018), Nicaragua (2001, 2014), Panama (2004, 2016), Paraguay (2004, 2018), Peru (2003, 2018), and Uruguay (2006, 2018).