Affirmative action & its unintended effects: an experimental investigation

Affirmative action policies favour members of disadvantaged groups in labour markets such as women, elderly, and nonwhite. They are widely implemented in employment, contracting, and education despite a lack of knowledge about societal impacts. This project uses field and laboratory experiments to study how individuals react to affirmative action and investigate sabotage, cooperation, and competition between disadvantaged and advantaged groups. The main hypothesis is that affirmative action can increase sabotage, harm cooperation and push competition in ways that endanger the wellfunctioning of labour markets. Results will provide new insights for policy makers and managers on the relevance of unintended effects of affirmative action.