Measuring Hiring Discrimination A History of Field Experiments in Discrimination Research

Zschirnt, Eva

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2780398

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…An enormous, rich, and growing literature shows that racial attitudes influence many Americans’ decisions ( Crabtree, 2018 ; Gaddis and Crabtree, 2021 ). We observe this robust stylized fact ( Crabtree and Fariss, 2016 ) of racial discrimination in the USA in multiple contexts, such as in the labor market, where employers give individuals from historically minoritized groups fewer opportunities and pay them lower wages ( Pager and Shepherd, 2008 ; Zschirnt, 2016 ; Quillian et al, 2017 ; Lippens et al, 2022 , 2023 ; Quillian and Lee, 2023 ). We also observe it in housing, where landlords and bankers are more likely to pass them over for approval as renters and homeowners ( Yinger, 1995 ; Flage, 2018 ; Gaddis et al, 2023 ), in credit decisions, where financial institutions reject them at higher rates and for them to pay higher interest rates, and in all manner of consumer interactions, where sellers quote them higher costs for goods and services ( Ayres and Siegelman, 1995 ; Doleac and Stein, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Americans do not select their doctors based on race

Olinger,

Matejka,

Chakravarty

et al. 2024

Front. Sociol.

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To what extent do Americans racially discriminate against doctors? While a large literature shows that racial biases pervade the American healthcare system, there has been no systematic examination of these biases in terms of who patients select for medical treatment. We examine this question in the context of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, where a wealth of qualitative evidence suggests that discrimination against some historically marginalized communities, particularly Asians, has increased throughout the United States. Conducting a well-powered conjoint experiment with a national sample of 1,498 Americans, we find that respondents do not, on average, discriminate against Asian or doctors from other systematically minoritized groups. We also find no consistent evidence of treatment effect heterogeneity; Americans of all types appear not to care about the racial identity of their doctor, at least in our study. This finding has important implications for the potential limits of American prejudice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Americans do not select their doctors based on race

Olinger,

Matejka,

Chakravarty

et al. 2024

Front. Sociol.

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“…An employer's preferences through direct investigation are difficult to measure, and often fails to expose the real reason why jobseekers are rejected because of the sensitivity of the problem. Existing studies consider that field experiments designed specifically for the measurement of discrimination in hiring decisions are typically referred to as correspondence test (Gaddis, 2018; Neumark, 2018; Zschirnt, 2016). In the correspondence testing, the ‘individuals’ sent into the field may be simply applicants or emails from hypothetical people (Zschirnt, 2019).…”

Section: Design Of the Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fertility‐based employment discrimination and family policy: Evidence from a field experiment

Wang

Chen

2023

Soc Policy Adm

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Previous studies show that the labour market discriminates against working mothers in the workplace. However, the childfree women have received scant attention and little is known about the discrimination based on potential and actual fertility status. Given the state interventions to help women balance work and family in the form of family policy in many countries, it is important to address how it affects fertility discrimination behaviour in the workplace. This study conducts a correspondence test at an online recruitment platform in China. When it comes to employment, women are more likely than men to be affected by their fertility status. The findings of our experiment reveal that the disclosure of fertility status for childfree women in resumes significantly reduces their likelihood of receiving callbacks from real employers, as compared to resumes of women with children, by ~26.7%. Generous maternity leave policies may encourage discrimination towards childfree women who are of fertile age in non‐mother‐friendly occupation. The employment discrimination affects women who have the potential to become mothers.

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“…Since the 1960s, field experiments have been used to study the phenomenon of discrimination in the labour market, making use of in-person audits and written correspondence testing (Cherry and Bendick, 2018; Gaddis, 2018b; Zschirnt, 2016). In recent years, and in European countries in particular, correspondence testing has been deemed to be one of the most suitable methods to identify and measure discrimination in the labour market and in hiring decisions in particular (Schneider et al, 2014: 14).…”

Section: Correspondence Testing: An Introduction To the Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

“… 1. An overview of the historical development of field experiments with a focus on ethnic or racial discrimination in the labour market can be found in e.g. Cherry and Bendick (2018), Gaddis (2018b), or Zschirnt (2016). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Ethics in Correspondence Testing: An Update

Zschirnt

2019

Research Ethics

Self Cite

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Correspondence testing to research discrimination in the marketplace has become common and the use of internet applications has allowed researchers to send greater numbers of applications. While questions of research ethics always arise when planning a correspondence test, the issue receives relatively little attention in published correspondence tests. This paper addresses the question of ethics in correspondence testing in the age of ready internet access. It focusses on the ethical issues that arise in correspondence testing, looking at potential problems (regarding voluntary participation, informed consent, deception, entrapment of employers, employers' rights) and possible solutions, and technical challenges.European country examples show that the ethical questions raised in correspondence testing have to be renegotiated depending on the national context. The paper argues that correspondence testing, if planned carefully and executed responsibly, can meet most of the ethical requirements of Social Science ethics guidelines.

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Measuring Hiring Discrimination A History of Field Experiments in Discrimination Research

Cited by 6 publications

References 65 publications

Americans do not select their doctors based on race

Americans do not select their doctors based on race

Fertility‐based employment discrimination and family policy: Evidence from a field experiment

Research Ethics in Correspondence Testing: An Update

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