Mentoring and the Dynamics of Affirmative Action
- (pp. 402-44)
Abstract
We analyze the long-term workforce composition when the quality of mentoring available to majority and minority juniors depends on their representation in the workforce. A workforce with at least 50 percent majority workers invariably converges to one where the majority is overrepresented relative to the population. To maximize welfare, persistent interventions, such as group-specific fellowships, are often needed, and the optimal workforce may include minority workers of lower innate talent than the marginal majority worker. We discuss the role of mentorship determinants, talent dispersion, the scope of short-term interventions, various policy instruments and contrast our results to the classic fairness narrative.Citation
Müller-Itten, Michèle, and Aniko Öry. 2022. "Mentoring and the Dynamics of Affirmative Action." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14 (2): 402-44. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190579Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I20 Education and Research Institutions: General
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
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