Place-based affirmative action in college admission and educational attainment

This study investigates the educational impact of China’s Special College Admission Policy (SCAP), a place-based affirmative action program that reserves key-college seats for students from impoverished rural areas. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, we demonstrate that this policy significantly improves the educational attainment of targeted individuals. On average, policy eligibility increases schooling by 0.55 years and the 4-year college attendance rate by 8.4 percentage points. The educational impact of the SCAP far exceeds the gains attributable to the reserved seats alone. Mechanism analysis reveals that the SCAP incentivizes both individuals and local governments, leading to higher academic high school enrollment and increased private and public investments in education.