01647nas a2200169   4500008004100000245007000041210006900111260000900180490000700189520109600196100002001292700001501312700002101327700002101348700002001369856008801389       2020                        eng d00aMass Higher Education and its Civic Impacts in Portugal and Spain0 aMass Higher Education and its Civic Impacts in Portugal and Spai  c20200 v463 aOne group of important higher education’s external benefits are civic ones which include but transcend political participation. These include aspects such as greater trust in institutions or other individuals and the willingness to tolerate and accept differences per se or minority groups. These are particularly relevant in countries such as Portugal and Spain where democratic regimes are more recent. In this article, we analyze the relevance of mass higher education in Portugal and Spain by comparing groups within the same cohort that have different levels of education with older cohorts with different levels of education but who were born before the transition to democracy. The results show that higher education is a major factor contributing to stronger political and civic engagement, and to higher levels of trust and tolerance, and that its importance persisted despite the massive expansion in higher education. This should become a major part of the debate about rationales for public funding of higher education, especially in times of growing inequalities and tensions.1 aTeixeira, Pedro1 aSá, Carla1 aCerejeira, João1 aFigueiredo, Hugo1 aPortela, Miguel  uhttps://www.cipes.pt/mass-higher-education-and-its-civic-impacts-portugal-and-spain