The Impact of the Active School Search Campaign on Preschool Enrollment Rates in Brazilian Municipalities

Abstract

Brazil has yet to achieve universal access to preschool education, a goal initially scheduled for accomplishment by 2016 according to the National Education Plan. This article aims to present the results, in terms of preschool enrollment rates, of an evaluation assessing the effectiveness of the Active School Search Campaign, developed by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the National Union of Municipal Directors of Education, a campaign to support the municipalities in proactively searching for children who are out of school or at risk of dropping out. The empirical identification strategy consisted of employing the differences-in-differences method combined with propensity score matching. The results indicate that the impact was not statistically significant in any of the exercises performed. This evidence reinforces that policies to combat school exclusion require an intersectoral approach.