主讲人Speaker: 李腾   教授   中山大学

时间Date & Time: 2026年10月22日（周四），10:00--11:30

地点Venue:粤海校区汇星楼565会议室

内容简介/ Abstract:

Although affirmative action (AA) in higher education is a continuous policy instrument, it is yet unknown how its effect varies with its intensity. We study the dose effects of AA on its intended beneficiaries by exploiting the ethnic minority bonus-point policy in China’s centralized college admissions system, where targeted students receive explicit point advantages. Exploring cohort-level fluctuations in exam score distributions that generate plausibly exogenous variation in the effective dose of AA, we show that higher AA doses increase recipients’ admissions to colleges and elite colleges, but lower their academic rankings among college peers, shift them toward lower-earning majors, and reduce their satisfaction with college life. From data linking college entrance exam (CEE) records to comprehensive card transaction records 10–23 years after CEE, we find that low AA doses increase long-term consumption by 19% but high doses reduce it by 25%. Such non-monotonic dose responses exist across expenditure categories, including child-related expenditure, suggesting potential impacts on future generations. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that while the positive effects of low AA doses persist across student groups, students from stronger academic backgrounds are more resilient to the negative effects of high AA doses. Overall, our results suggest that careful calibration of AA policies is crucial for achieving their intended goals.

主讲人介绍/Biography of the speaker：

李腾，中山大学国际金融学院教授、学术部主任，中山大学高级金融研究院研究员，国家重大人才工程青年人才，中山大学“逸仙学者”、“百人计划”引进人才、哈佛大学访问教授、美国经济研究局访问学者。主要的研究方向是劳动与金融经济学。研究发表于Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Financial Economics，《经济研究》、《管理世界》等国内外经济金融学期刊。