Affirmative Action and the Quality–Fit Trade-off

2016/03/01 by Peter Arcidiacono, Michael Lovenheim · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Legal and Constitutional Studies #Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems #Judicial and Constitutional Studies

paper · doi:10.1257/jel.54.1.3

openalex publication_date 2016/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on affirmative action in undergraduate education and law schools, focusing especially on the trade-off between institutional quality and the fit between a school and a student. We discuss the conditions under which affirmative action for underrepresented minorities (URM) could help or harm their educational outcomes. We provide descriptive evidence on the extent of affirmative action in law schools, as well as a critical review of the contentious literature on how affirmative action affects URM law-school student performance. Our review then discusses affirmative action in undergraduate admissions, focusing on the effects such admissions preferences have on college quality, graduation rates, college major, and earnings. We conclude by examining the evidence on “percent plans” as a replacement for affirmative action. (JEL I23, I26, I28, J15, J31, J44, K10)

Citations

• Ability sorting and the returns to college major
• The Returns to College Admission for Academically Marginal Students
• The role of ethnicity in choosing and leaving science in highly selective institutions
• Admission Preferences for Minority Students, Athletes, and Legacies at Elite Universities*
• Affirmative Action and Its Alternatives in Public Universities: What Do We Know?
• The Consquences of Adjustment for a Concomitant Variable That Has Been Affected by the Treatment

Cited by

• Affirmative action in the United States [wikipedia]

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