世界银行-高等教育扩张与企业组织（英）

Policy Research Working Paper11216Higher Education Expansion and Firm OrganizationXavier CireraMarcio CruzAntonio Martins-Neto Finance, Competitiveness and Investment Global Department September 2025 Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedProduced by the Research Support TeamAbstractThe Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Policy Research Working Paper 11216This paper investigates the impact of higher education expansion on firm performance in developing countries. It focuses on the significant expansion of higher educa-tion in Brazil between 2000 and 2012, which substantially increased higher education enrollment and graduation rates, thereby reducing the costs of hiring college-educated work-ers. Building on the theory of knowledge-based hierarchies and using a difference-in-differences approach and match-ing techniques, the paper finds that the surge in skilled labor supply led to a rise in the proportion of college-ed-ucated workers within firms in the treated microregions. This increase was accompanied by an increased prob-ability 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 accessi-bility of hiring professionals and managers can significantly influence firms’ organizational structures, with implications for firm performance and productivity.This paper is a product of the Finance, Competitiveness and Investment Global Department. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/prwp. The authors may be contacted at xcirera@worldbank.org.Higher Education Expansion and Firm OrganizationXavier Cirera1, Marcio Cruz2, and Antonio Martins-Neto11The World Bank2IFCJEL Codes: D22, I23, J24, J44, L23Keywords: Higher Education, Firm Organization, Productivity∗We thank William F. Maloney for guidance and comments and Alex Coad and the participants ofthe 2024 Jobs and Development Conference, the IFC Research BBL, and the SOLE-EALE-AASLE WorldConference 2025 in Toronto for their comments. This is a background paper for the “Reclai