The Economics of Affirmative Action (The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series, 176)

Review ’The well-written and informative introduction provides the context for the selected writings and a basis on which to evaluate the contents . . . This volume is likely to be most useful for the academic or research scholar who wants to get an assessment of the state of the affirmative action research in one place . . . it puts a wide array of literature at your fingertips.’ -- Margaret C. Simms, Feminist Economics’I would recommend this book to serious scholars and to graduate students interested in studying affirmative action or employment equity.’ -- Harish C. Jain, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations’Affirmative action programs are a unique social experiment, whose consequences deserve great attention in efforts to help disadvantaged groups. By gathering the best economic studies on affirmative action, this volume offers a valuable antidote to the ideological controversy that too often surrounds the subject. Evidence, not rhetoric, is needed, and here it is in one compendium.’ -- Richard Freeman, Harvard University, US Product Description Holzer (public policy, Georgetown University) and Neumark (economics, Public Policy Institute of California) collect journal articles from 1976 through 2000 on affirmative action, narrowly construed as targeting contractors and broadly construed as encompassing many anti- discrimination efforts. Articles look at affirmative action in the labor market, in education, and in contracting, and consider who implements affirmative action and how they do it. Selections include classic papers that make a major contribution to the analysis of affirmative action and articles that highlight recent research. Papers are grouped in sections on theoretical evaluations of affirmative action, redistributive effects, and efficiency/performance effects of affirmative action. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) About the Author Edited by Harry J. Holzer, Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University and Visiting Fellow, Urban Institute, Washington, DC, US and David Neumark, Department of Economics, University of California, Irvine, US