Some new historical evidence on the impact of affirmative action: Detroit, 1972

A sample of Detroit area firms in 1972 is used to determine the effects of affirmative action requirements and other firm characteristics on the recruitment and hiring of women and black men. The results suggest that affirmative action changed firm hiring practices with respect to black males. The unique data set also allows for a test of Becker’s well-known hypothesis that customer prejudice may influence the hiring of blacks or females.