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Does affirmative action address ethnic inequality?: A systematic review of the literature

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  • Simone Schotte
  • Rachel M. Gisselquist
  • Tharcisio Leone

Abstract

Despite the good intentions behind affirmative action policies to mediate 'horizontal inequalities' between ethnic groups, the evidence on their effectiveness remains open to debate. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of the literature with global scope, to add new clarity on whether positive or negative effects prevail according to the available quantitative evidence and the strength and generalizability of this evidence. Overall, close to two-thirds of the 194 reviewed studies find a dominantly positive effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Schotte & Rachel M. Gisselquist & Tharcisio Leone, 2023. "Does affirmative action address ethnic inequality?: A systematic review of the literature," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-14, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2023-14
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frances Stewart, 2000. "Crisis Prevention: Tackling Horizontal Inequalities," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 245-262.
    2. Kaletski, Elizabeth & Prakash, Nishith, 2016. "Does Political Reservation for Minorities Affect Child Labor? Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 50-69.
    3. Larry L. Howard & Nishith Prakash, 2012. "Do employment quotas explain the occupational choices of disadvantaged minorities in India?," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 489-513, August.
    4. Hugh Waddington & Howard White & Birte Snilstveit & Jorge Garcia Hombrados & Martina Vojtkova & Philip Davies & Ami Bhavsar & John Eyers & Tracey Perez Koehlmoos & Mark Petticrew & Jeffrey C. Valentin, 2012. "How to do a good systematic review of effects in international development: a tool kit," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 359-387, September.
    5. David Neumark & Harry Holzer, 2000. "Assessing Affirmative Action," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 483-568, September.
    6. György Molnár, 2017. "Capability building combined with microcredit: the loan alone is insufficient," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 354-374, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rachel M. Gisselquist & Min Jung Kim & Simone Schotte & Chinmayi Srikanth, 2024. "Affirmative action around the world: insights from a new dataset (update)," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2024-48, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Simone Schotte & Tharcisio Leone & Rachel M. Gisselquist, 2023. "The impact of affirmative action in India and the United States: A systematic literature review," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-15, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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