Mentoring and the Dynamics of Affirmative Action

Mich'le M'ller-Itten () and Aniko Öry
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Mich'le M'ller-Itten: Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Michèle Müller-Itten

No 2112R, Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers from Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University

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 >=50% 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.

Keywords: Affirmative action; Continuous time overlapping generations; Human capital; Labor participation; Employment insecurity; Mentoring; Talent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D62 E24 I2 J15 J16 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58 pages
Date: 2017-11, Revised 2019-08
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Published in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (May 2022), 14(2): 402-444

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Related works:
Journal Article: Mentoring and the Dynamics of Affirmative Action (2022)
Working Paper: Mentoring and the Dynamics of Affirmative Action (2017)
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