Abstract: The theoretical and empirical evidence of the economic effects of affirmative action or quota (positive discrimination) programmes for minority racial groups in the USA, and of reservations of government jobs for scheduled castes and tribes in India, are compared and discussed. The focus is on the effects on wages and employment in the labour market as well as on the acquisition of skills. Consideration is also given to how the dynamics of collective action may turn these programmes, which were designed to be temporary and limited in scope, into larger, more permanent ones.

Keywords: affirmative action, caste, employment, India, job reservation, labour market, minority groups, positive discrimination, quotas, scheduled castes, skill acquisition, tribes, USA, wages,