Abstract
Do non-selective, centralized admission systems yield positive returns for students? I combine administrative data on academic and non-cognitive outcomes with an instrumental variable design to evaluate a recent reform in Chile. The system increased test scores by 0.020–0.035 and 0.024–0.038 standard deviations in Mathematics and Reading, respectively, with no impact on non-cognitive measures. Heterogeneity analysis reveals these gains are driven by female and low-income students. At the school level, a transitory performance drop in the third year is followed by robust positive returns by the fifth. These findings support centralized, non-selective admission as an effective policy tool that reduces educational inequality and generates growing returns over time for both students and schools.