RIVERA, Jairo. 10 YEARS OF FREE HIGHER EDUCATION IN ECUADOR: WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE ACCESS?. []. , 7, pp.58-69. ISSN 2550-6722.

This paper analyzes Free Higher Education Law that was implemented in Ecuador with the Constitution of 2008. The purpose of this document is to investigate the impact of this policy on students’ access to higher education and examine whether it is relevant or not. The study begins with a literature review, where there is an interesting debate on the benefits and costs of this policy. Subsequently, the empirical section is developed using data for the Survey of Urban and Rural Employment and Unemployment (ENEMDUR) for 2007-2016. In the estimation, Probit models are used to estimate the probability of access to higher education and its marginal effects. The results suggest that the measure had a positive impact on access to higher education for all groups until other merit and quality policies were implemented. It generally, has benefited minority ethnic groups and people with low incomes.

: free education; access to higher education; merits and quality policies.

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