Over the past six decades our political, philosophical and legal approaches to discrimination have evolved, moving from a laissez-faire attitude to complex legislation that addresses both 'direct' and 'indirect' discrimination. Some argue now for the complete abolition of anti-discrimination...

This paper studies whether affirmative action policies towards the outsider group may foster a backlash by the insider one. We exploit the unique historical context provided by the legacy of apartheid in democratic South Africa. We found that the completion of the affirmative action legislation...

This study examines the Philippines' progress toward achieving gender equality, disability inclusion, and social inclusion (GEDSI) through an examination of available data on analysis of Goals 5 (Gender Equality) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from 2015...

The format of this report was established for the 2021 Semester, as part of the work programme of the Commission's European Disability Expertise (EDE) network and building on previous work by the Academic Network of European Disability experts (ANED) project. This updated report provides a...

Public higher education institutions in the Philippines have experienced expansions in campuses, programs, and enrollments. Alongside these expansions are challenges that can limit the public higher education institutions' capacity to deliver quality education and ensure the disadvantaged...

This paper estimates the long-run impacts of banning affirmative action on men and women from under-represented minority (URM) racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Using data from the US Census and American Community Survey, we use a difference-in-differences framework to compare the...

This report provides a general overview of the ways in which EU gender equality law has been implemented in the domestic laws of the 27 Member States of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (the EEA countries), and the United Kingdom. The analysis thus covers 31...

Under the Right to Education Act (2009), the Indian government introduced a policy that required private schools to reserve 25% of primary school places for children from socially disadvantaged households. This paper examines the impact of the RTE Act's reservation policy on private school...

Affirmative action, or positive discrimination favouring the members of marginalized populations, is a key policy approach to addressing group-based inequalities. It is adopted in dozens of countries around the world in the areas of, for instance, university enrolment, public employment, and...

We develop a model of college major selection in an environment where firms and students have incomplete information about the student's aptitude. Students must choose from a continuum of majors which differ in their human capital production function and can act as a signal to the market....

There is widespread opposition to affirmative action policies. We study whether personal disappointments shape preferences for such policies. Specifically, we test whether individuals' college admissions outcomes, relative to their expectations, influence their attitudes toward affirmative...

Although affirmative action remains controversial, little is known about who supports or opposes it and why. This paper investigates preferences for affirmative action by combining causal evidence from an experiment on the role of self-serving motives and in-group favoritism with survey data on...

Although affirmative action remains controversial, little is known about who supports or opposes it and why. This paper investigates preferences for affirmative action by combining causal evidence from an experiment on the role of self-serving motives and in-group favoritism with survey data on...

In the 1960s, two landmark statutes - the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Acts - targeted the long-standing practice of employment discrimination against U.S. women. For the next 15 years, the gender gap in median earnings among full-time, full-year workers changed little, leading many scholars to...

We study the effects of affirmative action at an elite Brazilian university that adopted race- and income-based quotas for 45 percent of its admission slots. We link admission records to national employer-employee data to examine how the policy affected the careers of both its targeted...

Although affirmative action remains controversial, little is known about who supports or opposes it and why. This paper investigates preferences for affirmative action by combining causal evidence from an experiment on the role of self-serving motives and in-group favoritism with survey data on...

Affirmative action in higher education can lead to mismatch, where students admitted through preferential treatment struggle academically due to inadequate preparation before college. Although some students may face initial challenges, by providing access to quality education for talented...

Despite gains in female representation in early career stages, large gender gaps persist at the higher ends of the income distribution. This paper uses an experiment to study how the dynamics of affirmative action may limit the extent to which its initial benefits extend throughout the career...

We examine the effects of an affirmative action policy at an elite Brazilian university that reserved 45 percent of admission slots for Black and low-income students. We find that marginally-admitted students who enrolled through the affirmative action tracks experienced a 14 percent increase in...

A number of scholars and civil society actors criticize anti-discrimination law arguing that it neglects the fundamental problem of socio-economic inequalities and rests on an overly narrow notion of equality compared to the one underlying classic (re)distributive policies. This chapter...

We study racial diversity in American law schools and the impact of state-level bans on affirmative action. To do this, we assembled data on the number of students by minority status at every ABA-approved law school from 1980 to 2021. During this time, the share of minority law students tripled...

Affirmative action in higher education can lead to mismatch, where students admitted through preferential treatment struggle academically due to inadequate preparation before college. Although some students may face initial challenges, by providing access to quality education for talented...