The Economics of Affirmative Action

In a recent JEL paper, Fryer and Loury propose convincing economic arguments for the continuation of affirmative action. The argument I found most compelling (their refutation of "Myth #4: Equal Opportunity is Enough to Ensure Racial Equality") is one based on the influence of intergenerational opportunity. They posit that those from previously discriminated against minority groups will be less likely to achieve equality with whites is a factor of the determinants of success. They argue that because a group has been discriminated against in the past, there is a higher rate of non-success now and those people's children will typically have less access to tools that ensure success in the future either due to fewer parental contacts or lower provisions of public goods. Despite all of the racial inequality that has been eliminated (particularly in the past 40 years), there is still a significant difference in the economic outcomes of minorities (as a group) vis-a-vis whites (and also between women and men), that there exists substantial evidence that assistance in terms of expanding opportunities through affirmative action make a lot of sense, even when the underlying discrimination appears to have disappeared.