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Affirmative Action and Its Mythology

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Author Info
Roland G. Fryer, Jr.
Glenn C. Loury

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Abstract

For more than three decades, critics and supporters of affirmative action have fought for the moral high ground ­ through ballot initiatives and lawsuits, in state legislatures, and in varied courts of public opinion. The goal of this paper is to show the clarifying power of economic reasoning to dispel some myths and misconceptions in the racial affirmative action debates. We enumerate seven commonly held (but mistaken) views one often encounters in the folklore about affirmative action (affirmative action may involve goals and timelines, but definitely not quotas, e.g.). Simple economic arguments reveal these seven views to be more myth than fact.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11464.

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Date of creation: Jul 2005
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11464

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J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Roland G. Fryer & Glenn C. Loury, 2003. "Categorical Redistribution in Winner-Take-All Markets," NBER Working Papers 10104, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Alan Krueger & Jesse Rothstein & Sarah Turner, 2005. "Race, Income, and College in 25 Years: The Continuing Legacy of Segregation and Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 11445, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Coate, Stephen & Loury, Glenn, 1993. "Antidiscrimination Enforcement and the Problem of Patronization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 92-98, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Rajiv Sethi & Rohini Somanathan, 2004. "Inequality and Segregation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(6), pages 1296-1321, December.
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  5. Dennis Epple & Richard Romano & Holger Sieg, 2003. "The Practice and Proscription of Affirmative Action in Higher Education:An Equilibrium Analysis," NBER Working Papers 9799, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Jimmy Chan & Erik Eyster, 2003. "Does Banning Affirmative Action Lower College Student Quality?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 858-872, June. [Downloadable!]
  7. Roland G. Freyer, Jr. & Glenn C. Loury & Tolga Yuret, 2003. "Color Blind Affirmative Action," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-131, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Glenn C. Loury, 1976. "A Dynamic Theory of Racial Income Differences," Discussion Papers 225, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science. [Downloadable!]
  9. Loury, Glenn C, 1981. "Intergenerational Transfers and the Distribution of Earnings," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(4), pages 843-67, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Loury, Glenn C, 1981. "Is Equal Opportunity Enough?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(2), pages 122-26, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jörg Franke, 2007. "Does Affirmative Action Reduce Effort Incentives? A Contest Game Analysis," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 711.07, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC). [Downloadable!]
  2. Lise Vesterlund & Muriel Niederle & Carmit Segal, 2008. "How Costly is Diversity? Affirmative Action in Light of Gender Differences in Competitiveness," Working Papers 342, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2008. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Elena del Rey & María Racionero, 2008. "An efficiency argument for affirmative action in higher education," Hacienda Pública Española, IEF, vol. 187(4), pages 41-48, December. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Manuel F. Bagüés & Berta Esteve-Volart, 2007. "Can gender parity break the glass ceiling? Evidence from a repeated randomized experiment," Working Papers 2007-15, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
  5. Tomer Blumkin & Yoram Margalioth & Efraim Sadka, 2007. "Incorporating Affirmative Action into the Welfare State," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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