Affirmative Action and University Fit: Evidence from Proposition 209

Peter Arcidiacono (), Esteban Aucejo, Patrick Coate () and V. Joseph Hotz
Additional contact information
Peter Arcidiacono: Duke University
Patrick Coate: Duke University

No 7000, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Proposition 209 banned using racial preferences in admissions at California's public colleges. We analyze unique data for all applicants and enrollees within the University of California (UC) system before and after Prop 209. After Prop 209, graduation rates of minorities increased by 4.4%. We characterize conditions required for better matching of students to campuses to account for this increase. We find that Prop 209 did improve matching and this improvement was important for the graduation gains experienced by less-prepared students. At the same time, better matching only explains about 20% of the overall graduation rate increase. Changes after Prop 209 in the selectivity of enrolled students explains 34-50% of the increase. Finally, it appears UC campuses responded to Prop 209 by doing more to help retain and graduate its students, which explains between 30-46% of the post-Prop 209 improvement in the graduation rate of minorities.

Keywords: college graduation; college enrollment; affirmative action; mismatch (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2012-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published - published in: IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 2014, 3, 7 (2014)

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https://docs.iza.org/dp7000.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Affirmative Action and University Fit: Evidence from Proposition 209 (2013)
Working Paper: Affirmative action and university fit: evidence from Proposition 209 (2013)
Working Paper: Affirmative Action and University Fit: Evidence from Proposition 209 (2012)
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