Testing for Bias in Graduate School Admissions
Gregory Attiyeh
Law & Economics Consulting Group, Inc.
Richard E. Attiyeh
University of California at San Diego
JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES, Vol. 32, No. 3, Summer 1997
Abstract:
This paper provides an empirical examination of the factors that influence graduate admissions decisions. It exploits a unique, large data set on applications and admissions to forty-eight leading graduate schools in five disciplines, including economics. The analysis shows that these graduate schools in the aggregate gave substantial preference in four out of five fields to U.S. citizens over foreign applicants, modest preference in three fields to women over men, and substantial preference in all fields to under-represented minorities over other U.S. citizens. The findings suggest that higher standards are applied to over-represented groups to achieve more diverse enrollments.
JEL Classification: I21, J44, J71
Accepted Paper Series
Suggested Citation
Attiyeh, Gregory and Attiyeh, Richard E., Testing for Bias in Graduate School Admissions. JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES, Vol. 32, No. 3, Summer 1997. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=3905
