This book explores the effects of discrimination on the economic outcomes of various societal groups.

What role has affirmative action played in the growth of minority and female employment in U.S. firms? This paper analyzes this issue by comparing the employment of minorities and women at firms holding federal contracts and therefore mandated to implement affirmative action, and at...

People who have divorced are entitled to Social Security spousal benefits if their marriages lasted at least ten years. This paper uses 1985-1995 Vital Statistics data and the 2008-2011 American Community Surveys to analyze how this rule affects divorce decisions. I find evidence that the...

Nearly half of U.S. employers test job applicants and workers for drugs. I use variation in the timing and nature of drug testing regulation to study discrimination against blacks related to perceived drug use. Black employment in the testing sector is suppressed in the absence of testing,...

In light of the recent bans on affirmative action in higher education, this paper provides new evidence on the effects of alternative admissions policies on the persistence and college completion of minority students. I find that the change from affirmative action to the Top 10% Plan in Texas...

Kleiner examines occupations that are at various stages of regulation to determine to what extent regulation has influenced the individuals in the occupations, consumers, and related occupational practitioners.