Professor Wainwright's message reminds me of an interesting event at the
ASSA meetings. At the same time as the CPI forum, there was one on
affirmative action. It had a number of interesting aspects:
1. Richard Posner was pathetic at playing an economist. He was filled with
economic jargon to cover his most simplist position, which was the most
reactionary of the lot -- June O'Neill was the other conservative. Among his
arguments was the claim that the number of individuals harmed by affirmative
action just equals the number helped. As another panelist, Jonathan Leonard,
pointed out this assumes that there is no discrimination.
2. Glen Loury had a surprisingly strong defense of the general principle of
affirmative action, though one might question the modest ways in which he
supports its implementation. It would be a serious mistake to lump him with
those opposed to affirmative action and, indeed, Francine Blau indicated
that she had substantial points of agreement with his presentation.
3. Jonathan Leonard modestly defended the use of affirmative action in
employment but made clear that he believes it has had only a small effect on
hiring decisions. Most relevant to Professor Wainwright's concern, Leonard
pointedly rejected set aside programs. He asserted that virtually all
competent studies find that set asides have virtually no effect on the number
of minority-owned businesses so that they should not be defended.
4. It was of interest that Francine Blau, rather than Barbara Bergmann, was
selected as the female defender of affirmative action. I do not question
her credentials. However, given that Bergmann is now playing a leading role
in defense of affirmative action, this must indicate that the session's
organizer, Finis Welsh, made a conscious decision not to have a strong
defender who is unwilling to be completely colleagial on the panel.
Robert Cherry
