RULOF BURGER is Senior Lecturer at the Stellenbosch University Department of Economics, South Africa and a research associate at the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, UKJUDITH HEYER is Emeritus Fellow of Somerville College, Honorary Associate of the Oxford Department of International Development and Associate of the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies at the University of Oxford, UKRACHEL JAFTA is Professor at the Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University, South AfricaNIRAJA GOPAL JAYAL is Professor and currently Chairperson of the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, IndiaMARK C. LONG is an assistant professor in the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and adjunct assistant professor of economics at the University of Washington, USAMAZNAH MOHAMAD is visiting senior research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore, SingaporeABDUL RAUFU MUSTAPHA is University Lecturer in African Politics at the University of Oxford and Kirk-Greene Fellow in African Studies at St Antony's College, UKRAFAEL GUERREIRO OSORIO is researcher at IPEA, the Institute of Applied Economic Research, BrazilJOSEPH RUANE is Professor at the Department of Sociology, University College Cork, Ireland JENNIFER TODD is Professor at and Director of the Institute for British Irish Studies at the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, IrelandZAINAL AZNAM YUSOF was an adviser at the National Implementation Task Force (NITF) and a Distinguished fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia

"This book provides a perceptive overview of affirmative action and an insightful set of papers on policy contexts, practices and outcomes in seven countries It makes a welcome and important contribution to the literature, as evidenced in the range of perspectives and points of contention reviewed above." - European Journal of Development Research

• Foreword; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Affirmative Action: Foundations, Contexts, and Debates; G.Brown , A.Langer & F.Stewart Affirmative Action and its Alternatives in Public Universities: What Do We Know?; M.C.Long The Challenge of Positive Discrimination in India; J.Heyer & N.G.Jayal Affirmative action in South Africa: an Empirical Assessment of the Impact on Labour Market Outcomes; R.Burger & R.Jafta The Persistence of Black-white Income Differentials in Brazil; R.G.Osorio Affirmative Action in Malaysia: An Overview of Progress and Limitations; Z.A.Yusof Ethnicity and Inequality in Malaysia: A Retrospect and a Rethinking; M.Mohamad Beyond Inequality? Assessing the Impact of Fair Employment, Affirmative Action and Equality Measures on Conflict in Northern Ireland; J.Todd & J.Ruane How Effective is the Federal Character Commission in Nigeria?; A.R.Mustapha