The disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program has been a controversial and fiercely debated topic since the january 1983 passage of the surface transportation assistance act. Strong opinions on this subject, combined with a shortage of relevant data, have increased the program's vulnerability to criticism. A quantitative view of the impact of the current DBE program is provided to help give an understanding of the program's strong points and weaknesses. In addition, results of a study conducted at the indiana department of highways (IDOH) are presented. The study demonstrates that the IDOH DBE program has increased minority participation in the indiana highway construction industry in terms of dollar volume and that the number and dollar volume of DBE subcontract awards have been reasonably distributed throughout the six indiana districts. Also, DBE firms are being awarded an increasing number of large contracts each year, and repeat award-winning DBE firms in indiana have consistently been awarded the majority of DBE dollars. A large percentage of the minority work in indiana is being performed by a small group of DBE contractors, and a majority of the work performed by DBE's in indiana is in low-capital, intensive speciality areas.
Abstract