Assessing Affirmative Action

TLDR

Economic research shows discrimination against women and minorities and some redistributive effects of affirmative action, yet offers little evidence on its impact on efficiency or performance, a key economic issue in the debate. The review aims to examine affirmative action’s impact on efficiency and performance, drawing on economics and other disciplines. The authors conduct a comprehensive review across economics and related fields to assess affirmative action’s efficiency and performance effects. The evidence indicates that affirmative action can be implemented with relatively little efficiency loss, and the empirical case against it on efficiency grounds is weak at best.

Abstract

Economic research provides extensive evidence regarding discrimination against women and minorities, and some evidence on the redistributive effects of affirmative action. However, it provides much less evidence on affirmative action's impact on efficiency or performance, perhaps the key economic issue in the debate over affirmative action. This review covers all of these issues, but focuses on the efficiency/performance question, drawing on economics and other disciplines. The evidence suggests to us that affirmative action can be implemented with relatively little efficiency loss. Most importantly, the empirical case against affirmative action on the grounds of efficiency is weak at best.