Essays in Barriers and Pathways to Equitable Development

This dissertation examines how policy interventions can shape individual behavior and development across three distinct contexts: admission tests, mandatory markets for pension savings, and early childhood development. The first paper explores how textual context in Brazil’s ENEM affects performance gaps by socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity, revealing that semantic features in test questions significantly influence disparities and identifying pathways for fairer test design. The second paper evaluates a pro-competition reform in Chile’s pension system that made cheaper options available but saw limited uptake due to high levels of inertia. By exploring the timing and consequences of changes in fees, the study finds that participants are much more sensitive to price increases than to equivalent cost reductions. The third paper, co-authored with Diana Krüger, Matias Berthelon, and Rafael Sánchez, leverages an exogenous shock to breastfeeding caused by an earthquake in Chile to estimate its causal effects on child development, showing significant cognitive benefits of extended breastfeeding. Together, these essays highlight the nuanced ways in which policies can mitigate barriers to equity and promote development, offering evidence-based insights for designing effective interventions.