Quota versus Quality? Long-Term Gains from an Unusual Gender Quota
American Economic Review · 2026 · Volume 116 · Issue 6
Abstract
We evaluate equity-efficiency trade-offs from admissions quotas by examining effects on output once beneficiaries start producing in the relevant industry. We estimate the impact of abolishing a 40 percent quota for male primary school teachers on their pupils' long-run outcomes. We combine this reform with the timing of union-bargained teacher retirements to isolate quasi-random variation in male quota teachers. Pupils exposed to male quota teachers transition more smoothly to postcompulsory education and have higher educational attainment and labor force attachment at age 25. Evidence suggests the quota improved the allocation of talent by mending imperfections in the unconstrained selection process.
Keywords
Analysis of Education, Higher Education, Research Institutions, Education: Government Policy, Economics of Gender, Non-labor Discrimination, Human Capital, Skills, Occupational Choice, Labor Productivity, Public Sector Labor Markets
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