Higher racial diversity in US business and law schools is linked to higher graduate salaries

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc v. President and Fellows of Harvard College 600 US 181 (2023). The US Supreme Court’s decision highlights the lack of compelling evidence regarding the educational benefits of racial diversity as one of the main reasons for overturning the affirmative-action policies. Saul, S. At many top law schools, Black student enrollment continues to drop. The New York Times (16 December 2025). This news article reports that, after the affirmative-action ban, there has been a substantial drop in the number of Black students at 14 out of 18 leading law schools. Arcidiacono, P. & Vigdor, J. L. Econ. Inq. 48 , 3 537–557 (2010). This article examines survey data on individual respondents’ salaries and cohort racial diversity. Article Google Scholar Boisjoly, J., Duncan, G. J., Kremer, M., Levy, D. M. & Eccles, J. Am. Econ. Rev. 96 , 1890–1905 (2006). This paper finds that white university students who were randomly assigned to live with Black roommates were more likely to endorse affirmative action and to interact with people from minority ethnic groups than were white students who had white roommates. Article Google Scholar