Bringing Down the Educational Wall studies the causes of educational expansion in a global sample of developing and developed countries from 1960 to 2005. The book explores how the interaction between the economic context of nations (economic development and inequality) and political factors (the type of political regime and the ideology of dictatorships) influences countries' educational outcomes. The book's main contributions are the exploration of ideological differences between autocratic regimes and the tracing of changes in different parts of the income distribution, which accounts for education expanding to broad sectors of the population. Bringing Down the Educational Wall introduces a new database on the ideology of dictatorships and uses quantitative methods and case analyses to test its theoretical arguments. This work will help students in comparative politics and political economy courses to develop their understanding of redistributive policies and the effects of political factors on the expansion of education.

‘Manzano sheds important new light on why some governments expand educational opportunities for their citizens while others do not, starting from a simple, yet powerful, insight: that educational programs have redistributive effects. This allows her to draw novel and compelling insights – based on rigorous statistical analysis and careful case studies – into how economic development, inequality, and political institutions shape the ultimate development of human capital. The book is a critical, timely contribution for students of development, education, and political regimes.'

Michael Albertus - University of Chicago

‘Human capital is a crucial source of growth. But what determines its supply and accumulation? Using freshly-gathered evidence for all sovereign countries since the early 1960s, Professor Manzano shows that, conditional on economic development, political institutions and the policy preferences of those that govern them shape the level of school enrollment. Politics does not affect the extent of national schooling in poor countries. However, as growth starts to take place, democracies and, most notably, left-wing dictatorships expand education. This terrific book, which includes many additional insights on, among other things, the effects of electoral rules, partisanship and inequality, is a must-read for those interested in the political economy of education provision, redistribution, and development.'

Carles Boix - Robert Garrett Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University

‘What is the effect of political institutions on the well-being of citizens, especially their educational advancement? To answer this question, Manzano distinguishes – both theoretically and empirically – between left- and right-wing dictatorships. She convincingly shows that for much of the post-World War II period, left-wing dictatorships have done more to expand education than either their right-wing counterparts or democracies. Through rigorous theorizing and care data analysis, Manzano's work is a major contribution to both the comparative study of autocracies and the political economy of redistribution.'

Jennifer Gandhi - Emory University, Atlanta