A UC Berkeley economist, Zachary Bleemer, has conducted the first comprehensive study of what happened 24 year ago after California passed Prop. 209, banning affirmative action. The study found that Black and Hispanic enrollment declined across the University of California system after Proposition 209 fully took effect in 1998. Students who would have enrolled at the flagship campuses before the ban attended less selective universities in the system. This in turn pushed out other Black and Hispanic students, who moved down the ladder of selectivity. Those at the bottom lost their grip entirely, exiting the system altogether.