Let me return to our discussion a few weeks ago of the gender gap in college enrollments, and respond to a few of the many interesting comments. The gap in male-female median earnings is indeed less than in mean earnings because the distribution of male earnings is more skewed to the right. The greater skewness in male earnings is due to their greater variance in "skills", and to an interaction between skills and market demand. For a model of this kind (but not applied to male-female earnings differences), see my Human Capital.
To clarify my position on affirmative action for men and for various other groups, I am not claiming that non-hispanic whites do not have any desire to have African American, Latinos, and other minorities in their classes. Surely, many of them do, but I do claim that the desire of women to have a significant fraction of male students in the colleges they attend, and visa versa for men, is on the whole greater than the desire to have many members of these minority groups.
For reasons given in previous posts, I am against all government-enforced affirmative action admission-programs. Still, colleges should be free to choose their admission policies in the competitive higher education market of the United States. This includes the freedom to bring in more male students to balance a majority of female students. It also very definitely includes freedom of schools to show preference for minority students. We can argue about whether colleges should want to do this, but I leave that up to them to decide. However, it is unwise for governments to force such actions on colleges, as long as there is sufficient competition among colleges. There is enough competition in American higher education (but not in higher education in many other countries).
The war on drugs is certainly a factor, indeed I believe an important factor, in the low rate of high school completion among African-American males, and also in the higher education of African American females. The comment posted gives a good discussion of the reasons why. While there are many other forces involved, such as unstable families, the war on drugs is in principle the easiest to correct simply by legalizing drugs.
Part of the source in the gender gap in earnings during the past couple of decades is that many males who would be at the low end of the earnings distribution have dropped out of the labor force. However, there is still a sizeable gender gap in earnings even after correcting for the high male drop out rates. Moreover, the same type of selectivity applies to women since college educated women are more likely to work than women with lesser education.
Some of you in effect argue that colleges should take account of the greater variability in performance of men as well as their lower average performance. I agree and stated that in my post.
India has the opposite sex ratio in their better known undergraduate colleges. U.S.-India can pay tango and American women can see what brown can do for them:)
Posted by: Arun Khanna | 08/06/2006 at 08:53 AM
Oxford and Cambridge may provide some data points here. Cambridge undergraduates belong to one of 33 colleges, which compete. When I was an undergraduate in the 1970s, most colleges were single-sex; but after Kings and Churchill went co-ed, the others followed. Competitive pressures also drove med school admissions from a small minority of women then to a bare majority now.
In England, the hot affirmative-action issue isn't so much gender or race, but class. Cambridge colleges used to discriminate mildly in favour of working-class children; their goal was to maximise exam scores at graduation three years later, and they expected to add more value to youngsters who'd been to less fancy schools. Recently the government has been trying to centralise and bureaucratise this by bringing in targers and financial incentives. It's not working so well any more.
Posted by: Ross | 08/06/2006 at 04:21 PM
مركز تحميل
Posted by: Anonymous | 06/27/2009 at 07:40 PM
العاب
___
ÿ¥ÿßÿ™
Posted by: Anonymous | 07/13/2009 at 05:51 AM
ÿßÿ®ÿ±ÿßÿ¨
___
دليل
Posted by: Anonymous | 07/13/2009 at 05:55 AM
العاب
___
ÿ¥ÿßÿ™
Posted by: Anonymous | 07/14/2009 at 04:10 AM
Thank you, you always get to all new and used it
ÿ¥ÿßÿ™
دردشه
Posted by: Anonymous | 07/19/2009 at 12:34 PM
دردشة برق
دردشة الخليج
Posted by: Anonymous | 07/30/2009 at 06:11 PM
Badly need your help. My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed.
I am from Greece and know bad English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "You should understand, though, that setting up a filter is only the beginning.Shelly while I totally don't condone this type of game as she called it."
With best wishes 8-), Waneta.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/07/2009 at 07:57 AM
Badly need your help. There is no stigma attached to recognizing a bad decision in time to install a better one.
I am from Bosnia and learning to read in English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Compare prices, read reviews and check online store ratings at bizrate uk before you buy online."
With best wishes :-(, Iron bathroom furniture.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/11/2009 at 01:59 AM
buy Viramune
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/20/2009 at 08:41 PM
tiffany jewellery
ugg boots
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/21/2009 at 01:49 AM
links of london
abercrombie and fitch
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/21/2009 at 01:49 AM
very thanks for article
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/25/2009 at 12:55 PM
Great article, I had a good laugh!links of london
tiffany jewelry
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/26/2009 at 01:21 AM
Could you help me. If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don't, you're simply ducking your responsibilities.
I am from Albania and also now'm speaking English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Gel nails burn, gels' deaf pastures are just started in nail results."
Regards 8) En vogue gel nails.
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/28/2009 at 03:57 PM
Provides the best tiffany jewellery, including Necklaces, Pendants, Bracelets, Earrings,
Ringsat the lowest prices.Tiffany jewellery
is the best online United Kingdom jewelry stores where you can buy the cheapest Tiffany &
Co silver Our huge selection of
tiffany jewelry
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/29/2009 at 01:31 AM
good post,I think so!Abercrombie & Fitch on Sale, Hoodies, Jeans, T-Shirts, Pants, Polos
abercrombie and fitch abercrombie and
fitchcheap abercrombie fitch Abercrombie Men Tee abercrombie womens polos Abercrombie
& Fitch Men, women, and children's clothing and accessories edhardylife a famous ed hardy
store which sell directly ed hardy clothing, shoes, boots, swim suit and other cheap ed
hardy ed hardy cheap Ed Hardy ed hardy
clothing,Providing authentic Ed Hardy Clothing with competitive price and fast,secure
delivery.The famous brand by Don Ed Hardy 's Vintage Ed Hardy
Posted by: Anonymous | 08/29/2009 at 01:32 AM
Thanks very much for the compilation!links london
tiffany jewellery
Posted by: Anonymous | 09/01/2009 at 02:36 AM
Pervert! Let's get out of here. There are so many perverts here.So what? You are such a bad person Who's gonna like you? Tiffany Jewelry Don't mind him. Don't mind him. He's just playing. Forget him. He saw me steal the diamond. Tiffany Jewelry You're dreaming! In your dreams. Wake up and smell the coffee.Where'd you get it!Good idea.Think it over.You can never tell about this sort of thing.Take a closer l Wake up and smell the coffee.Where'd you get it!Good idea.Think it over.You can never tell about this sort of thing.Take a closer look.When did I say that!You have to be on time. Don't be late. ook.When did I say that!You have to be on time. Don't be late.
Posted by: Anonymous | 09/10/2009 at 01:46 AM
Just love tiffany and ugg boots,thanks!!
Posted by: Anonymous | 09/19/2009 at 02:39 AM
Just love tiffany and ugg boots,thanks!!
Posted by: Anonymous | 09/19/2009 at 02:43 AM