O FIES Contribui Para a Atratividade das Carreiras de Licenciaturas e da Saúde?

Abstract

This paper evaluates the Brazilian Student Loan Fund (FIES) regarding the enrollment of students in courses of two priority areas of the Program: health and education. The identification strategy is based on a change in the FIES rule in 2009, which adopted a significant reduction in the financing rate of approximately 50% and led to a homogenization of interest rates applied between the courses in the areas of education and other courses. Pooled logit models estimates demonstrate that such changes led to an increase in the probability of choosing health courses, in the order of 32%, and a reduction of 46% in the chances of choices in education and teaching courses. These findings reveal that the changes in the Program have been effective for priority health courses but have generated a disincentive for those in the area of education.