Alejandra Mizala

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Alejandra Mizala
Professor Center of Applied Economics, Department of Industrial Engineering
Academic Director Center for Advanced Research in Education
University of Chile

Bio and Research Interest

Alejandra Mizala holds an economics degree from the University of Chile and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. She is Provost of the Universidad de Chile, and Professor at the University of Chile with the Center of Applied Economics, Department of Industrial Engineering.

She was the founder and the first Director of the Institute of Education at the Universidad de Chile (2017-22). She was also Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Education at the University of Chile (2015-22).

She has written articles, book chapters, and two books on various educational topics. Her research is on the Economics of Education, focusing on the impact of institutional arrangements and reforms on the outcomes of the Chilean school choice system, teachers’ labor market, and gender equality in education.

Her past appointments include Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) (2017-19) and member of the Board of Directors of CONICYT (2015-17), Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering (2011-15), member of Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Association’s Executive Committee (2011-15), President of the Chilean Economic Association (2004-05) and member of the Science Council of the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT) (2006-09).

She is a member of the Committee for post-pandemic educational reactivation; and was a member of the Expert Committee of the Chilean University Admission System (2017-2019 and 2021). She also served as a commissioner on the Minimum Wage Committee (2010-11), the Presidential Labor and Equity Council (2007-08), the Presidential Pension Reform Council (2006) and the Presidential Education Reform Council (2006).

She has also worked as a consultant for international organizations (World Bank, UNESCO, IADB, and ECLAC), foreign governments, and the Chilean public sector, mainly the Education Ministry.

Positions

Provost Universidad de Chile

Professor Center of Applied Economics, Department of Industrial Engineering

Universidad de Chile

Associate Researcher Center for Advanced Research in Education

PhD

PhD in Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 1985.

Recent Positions and Honors

Director Institute of Education Universidad de Chile

Director Center for Advanced Research in Education Universidad de Chile

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) (2017-2019). Member of the Board of Directors of CONICYT (2015-2017)

Chair Department Industrial Engineering (2011-2015)

Award ENEL 2017 for her contribution to education

Award Amanda Labarca Prize 2015 for her contribution to the university and the country

Award ComunidadMujer 2015 in recognition for her research on gender gaps in mathematics and actions to encourage more women in STEM field majors

Award Economist of the year, given by the School of Economics, University of Chile, 2014.

Graduate Teacher of the Year 2009. Master in Management and Public Policy, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Chile.

Undergraduate Teacher of the Year 2008. School of Engineering, University of Chile.

100 Female Leaders Award, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2017. Given by El Mercurio and Mujeres Empresarias.

Mujer Generación Siglo XXI (Woman of the Twenty-first Century Generation) Award, University of Chile, 2004.

Publications

“Chile’s Inclusion Law: the arduous drive to regulate an unequal education system, 2006–19”, Educational Review 2023, with Peter Cummings and Ben Schneider https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2234661

“Gender gaps in Mathematics and Language: The bias of competitive achievement tests”. PLoS ONE 18(3): 2023, with O. Arias, C. Canals y F. Meneses. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283384

“Mechanisms underlying choice-set formation: The case of school choice in Chile” Social Science Computer Review, 2022: 1-25, with C. Canals, S. Maroulis, E. Canessa y S. Chaigneau. DOI: 10.1177/08944393221088659

“The Gender Gap in College Major Choice in Chile” Economics of Education Review 77, 2020, with P. Bordón and C. Canals.

“Promoting quality education in Chile: the politics of reforming teacher careers” Journal of Educational Policy 35(4), 2020: 529-555, with B. Schneider.

“School closure and educational attainment: Evidence from a market-based system” Economics of Education Review 65, 2018:1-17, with N. Grau and D. Hojman.

“Means-Tested School Vouchers and Educational Achievement: Evidence from Chile’s Universal Voucher System.” ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 674, 2017: 163-183, with F. Torche.

Measuring the Relative Pay of School Teachers in Latin America 1997-2007” International Journal of Educational Development 47, 2016: 20-32, with H. Ñopo.

“Pre-service Elementary School Teachers’ Expectations about Student Performance: How their Beliefs are affected by their Mathematics Anxiety and Student’s Gender”. Teaching and Teacher Education 50, 2015: 70-78, with S. Martinez and F. Martinez

"Negotiating Education Reform: Teacher Evaluations and Incentives in Chile (1990-2010)" Governance vol 27(1): 87-109, 2014, with B. Schneider.

“School markets: The impact of information approximating schools’ effectiveness” Journal of Development Economics 103: 313-335, 2013, with M. Urquiola.

“Bringing the schools back in: the stratification of educational achievement in the Chilean voucher system”. International Journal of Educational Development 32, 2012: 132-144, with F. Torche.

“Effective Schools do Exist: Low Income Children’s Academic Performance in Chile”. Applied Economic Letters 19(5), 2012: 445-451, with B. Lara and A. Repetto.

“Public-Private Wage Gap in Latin America (1992-2007): A Matching Approach.” Labour Economics 18, 2011: 115-131, with P. Romaguera and S. Gallegos

“The Effectiveness of Private Voucher Education: Evidence from Structural School Switches”. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 33(2), 2011: 119-137. with B. Lara and A. Repetto.

“Using School Scholarships to Estimate the Effect of Private Education on the Academic Achievement of Low Income Students in Chile”. Economic of Education Review 28(3), 2009: 370-381, with A. Repetto and P. Anand.

“Socioeconomic status or noise? Tradeoffs in the generation of school quality information”. Journal of Development Economics 84, 2007: 61-75, with P. Romaguera and M. Urquiola.