| Abstract: | Using data from the University of California and results from previously published research on the returns to higher education,
this article presents a preliminary evaluation of the impact of ending affirmative action in admissions at a large, publicly
funded university. At the undergraduate level, eliminating race as a factor in the admissions process will redistribute African
Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans away from the most competitive campuses (UC-Berkeley, UCLA, UC-San Diego)
towards the less competitive campuses in the California State University system. This redistribution will lower the returns
to schooling for those affected groups and could have a negative impact on the educational environment for all students. Affirmative
action will, in the short run, reduce the number of African American, Mexican American, and Native American students admitted
and, in the long run, will have an adverse effect on the delivery of legal and health care services to those racial and ethnic
groups. |
