Affirmative Action and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment
Keywords
mathematics exam, affirmative action
Abstract
We conduct a field experiment paying students according to relative performance on a mathematics exam and tracking study efforts on a mathematics website to test the incentive effects of affirmative action (AA) policies on study effort and math proficiency. AA increases study effort and exam performance for the majority of disadvantaged students targeted by the policy. While the performance of the highest-ability students targeted by the AA policy declines, on average study activity and exam performance rise under AA. Overall, the experimental evidence suggests that AA can promote greater equality of market outcomes while narrowing achievement gaps.
Original Publication Citation
Cotton, Christopher; Brent Hickman, and Joseph Price. “Affirmative Action and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment” Journal of Labor Economics, 40(1), 157-185, 2022.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Price, Joseph; Cotton, Chirstopher S.; and Hickman, Brent R., "Affirmative Action and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment" (2022). Faculty Publications. 7181.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7181
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2022
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Language
English
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Economics
Copyright Status
© 2021 The University of Chicago.
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