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Who Is in Favor of Affirmative Action? Representative Evidence from an Experiment and a Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Herzog, Sabrina

    (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)

  • Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah

    (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)

  • Trieu, Chi

    (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE))

  • Willrodt, Jana

    (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE))

Abstract

Although affirmative action remains controversial, little is known about who supports or opposes it and why. This paper investigates preferences for affirmative action by combining causal evidence from an experiment on the role of self-serving motives and in-group favoritism with survey data on three different affirmative action policies. Our results rely on a population-representative sample from the US. We find that support for affirmative action is based both on self-serving motives and principled grounds (e.g., related to an individual's altruism, fairness perceptions, concerns for efficiency, and political views). By contrast, in-group favoritism and socio-demographic characteristics play a much smaller role.

Suggested Citation

  • Herzog, Sabrina & Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah & Trieu, Chi & Willrodt, Jana, 2023. "Who Is in Favor of Affirmative Action? Representative Evidence from an Experiment and a Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 16640, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16640
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    support for affirmative action; self-serving motives; in-group favoritism; altruism; efficiency; fairness; discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C99 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Other
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • J78 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Public Policy (including comparable worth)

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