Does It Matter Which Institution You Choose? A Case Study of Brazilian Graduate Admissions

This paper examines the influence of attending a specific economics master’s program in Brazil on subsequent PhD placement in Brazil and abroad. To mitigate potential selection biases, we control for relevant variables, including the applicant’s undergraduate institution and the graduate admission exam scores. Our findings indicate that differences in PhD placements among economics master’s programs substantially decrease when controlling for selection. However, selective master’s programs significantly affect PhD placements in economics abroad, particularly in highly selective, albeit not top-tier, universities overseas.