Does Temporary Affirmative Action Produce Persistent Effects? A Study of Black and Female Employment in Law Enforcement

Amalia R. Miller; Carmit Segal

doi:10.1162/rest_a_00208

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Does Temporary Affirmative Action Produce Persistent Effects? A Study of Black and Female Employment in Law Enforcement

Amalia R. Miller¹; Carmit Segal²

¹ University of Virginia · ² University of Zurich

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2012 open access

Abstract This paper exploits variation in the timing and outcomes of employment discrimination lawsuits against U.S. law enforcement agencies to estimate the cumulative and persistent employment effects of temporary externally imposed affirmative action (AA). We find that AA increased black employment at all ranks by 4.5 to 6.2 percentage points relative to national trends. We also find no erosion of these employment gains in the fifteen years following AA termination, although black employment growth was significantly lower in departments after AA ended than in departments whose plans continued. For women, in contrast, we find only marginal employment gains at lower ranks.

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00208
Volume: 94 (4)
Pages: 1107-1125
Language: en
Export: BibTeX
Sources: openalex crossref