Are Young French Jobseekers of Ethnic Immigrant Origin Discriminated against? A Controlled Experiment in the Paris Area

Abstract

This study uses the findings of a correspondence testing in order to assess the potential discrimination at job access level against young people of ethnic origin from the underprivileged suburbs of the Paris area (Ile-de-France

Can social media lead to labor market discrimination? Evidence from a field experiment

“…In the case of Europe, the results are similar for discrimination against Asian‐sounding names in Czech and German labor markets (Bartoš, Bauer, Chytilová, & Matějka, ). In line with our study, Duguet et al () and Edo and Jacquemet () provide results of discrimination on the French labor market against applicants with Arabic‐sounding names. Alongside these studies that investigate the effect of the names, some studies address the effect of a foreign nationality on labor market discrimination.…”

“…First, we are only interested on the impact of an applicant’s perceived foreign origin. This personal trait has been shown by Duguet et al () and Edo and Jacquemet () to induce strong name‐based discrimination in the same geographical area as our study (the greater Paris area). Second, our indication of foreign origin is based on text only, while Acquisti and Fong () also manipulate the background image across fictitious applicants.…”

“…For instance, Firth () shows that in the British labor market, applicants with African, Indian, or Pakistani nationality indicated by their place of birth, have significantly lower callback rates than British applicants. In France, Duguet et al () highlight the negative effect on callbacks of Moroccan nationality compared to French nationality. Those studies show clearly that applicants that are perceived to be members of a racial or minority group based on name, first name, nationality or cultural characteristics face hiring discrimination in many countries including France.…”

“…We chose this signal because many studies highlight the negative impact of an applicant’s perceived origins or ethnicity on interview call rates (Ahmed & Hammarstedt, ; Bertrand & Mullainathan, ; Duguet et al, ; Jacquemet & Yannelis, ). In particular, studies conducted in Europe show that applicants’ foreign language skills act as a signal of foreign cultural identity (Battu & Zenou, ; Bisin et al, ).…”

Analysis of Neighbourhood Effects and Work Behaviour: Evidence from Paris

“…Moreover, in industries and jobs in which workers are in contact with clients, employers may discriminate against residentially segregated workers to satisfy the perceived prejudices of their clients (Holzer & Ihlanfeldt, 1998). A recent French study used the findings of a correspondence test that assessed potential discrimination to job access (Duguet et al, 2011). The authors found a 'negative' effect for being a nationality other than French.…”