The Effects of Affirmative Action Bans on Low-Income College Access and Upward Mobility

In recent years, many states in the U.S. have banned race-based affirmative action in college admissions, with public universities in these states using a variety of methods to ensure a diverse student body without the explicit consideration of race, such as poverty preferences, in admissions. This paper investigates whether these statewide affirmative action bans improve college access for low-income students and subsequently help them climb the economic ladder. Using a unique institution-level dataset and difference-in-differences research design, I find that the elimination of race-based preferences increases the enrollment share of low-income and first-generation students at selective public universities. The positive impact on college access is driven by low-income, non-underrepresented minority students. Banning the use of race in admissions also raises the upward mobility rate, which measures the extent to which an institution contributes to intergenerational income mobility