The Effects of Affirmative Action Bans on College Enrollment, Educational Attainment, and the Demographic Composition of Universities
Abstract
I estimate the effects of affirmative action bans on college enrollment, educational attainment, and college demographic composition by exploiting time and state variation in bans. I find that bans have no effect on the typical student and the typical college, but they decrease underrepresented minority enrollment and increase white enrollment at selective colleges. In addition, I use the case study methods of Abadie and Gardeazabal (2003) and Abadie, Diamond, and Hainmueller (2010) and find that the affirmative action ban in California shifted underrepresented minority students from more selective campuses to less selective ones at the University of California.
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Selective schools see a drop in minority enrollment following affirmative action bans, while overall college enrollment rates remain relatively unaffected following a ban.
“While estimates suggest selective schools see a drop in minority enrollment following affirmative action bans(Long 2004 andHinrichs 2012), overall college enrollment rates remain relatively unaffected following a ban(Backes 2012 andHinrichs 2012).”
From Affirmative action and university fit: evidence from Proposition 209 (2014) · cites this paper as Hinrichs 2012
Cites
The economic costs of conflict: a case study of the Basque Country
Abadie, A., & Gardeazabal, J. (2003) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/000282803321455188 · Cited by 4,517 · see citing works
Affirmative action and university fit: evidence from Proposition 209
Arcidiacono, P., Aucejo, E., Coate, P., & Hotz, V. J. (2014) · IZA Journal of Labor Economics · doi:10.1186/2193-8997-3-7 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
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Affirmative Action, Mismatch, and Economic Mobility after California’s Proposition 209
Bleemer, Z. (2021) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1093/qje/qjab027 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Affirmative action and university fit: evidence from Proposition 209
Arcidiacono, P., Aucejo, E., Coate, P., & Hotz, V. J. (2014) · IZA Journal of Labor Economics · doi:10.1186/2193-8997-3-7 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hinrichs, P.
- Affiliations
- Georgetown University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hinrichs, Peter
- ORCID
- Hinrichs, Peter
- Venue
- Review of Economics and Statistics
- Publisher
- MIT Press - Journals
- Published
- 2012-08
- Volume
- 94
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 712-722
- ISSN
- 0034-6535 (ISSN-L)
- 1530-9142
- OpenAlex
- W2159082004
- Cited by
- 283
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 54.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Review of Economics and Statistics (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Keywords
- affirmative action bans, college enrollment, educational attainment, underrepresented minorities, selective colleges, University of California, college choice
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