Termination, Public organizations, Policy termination, Administrative reform,

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Th e equal treatment of all citizens is one of the fundamental principles of good administrative practice. Nevertheless, there are growing numbers of media and scientifi c reports on unequal treatment by public administrations. Th is article examines the unequal treatment of citizens by gender and ethnic origin by means of a survey-based fi eld experiment in German local government. With the help of two vignettes and randomized assignment of names, responses to fake citizen requests by local governments are analyzed for speed, quality, and service orientation. Th e results show very limited discrimination eff ects. While there is no evidence for general ethnic discrimination, a more diff erentiated analysis indicates patterns of ethnic discrimination conditioned by gender. Practitioner Points• Field experiments provide a useful tool for testing the responsiveness and discriminatory behavior of administrative units and can be applied to a multitude of tasks and research questions. • Th ese instruments are useful not only for academic research but also for superordinate units or civil society organizations as "watchdogs" of administrative conduct. • Th ere are three basic dimensions of responsiveness-speed, completeness, and service orientation-that are applicable to a wide range of citizens' requests. • Discrimination by public bodies is less a matter of representativeness than of eff ective bureaucratic rule of law and eff ective control mechanisms. • In the German context, the interaction of gender and ethnic origin induces "positive discrimination" when societal stereotypes are challenged.

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