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Spontaneous Discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Marcin P?ski
  • Bal?zs Szentes

Abstract

We consider a dynamic economy in which agents are repeatedly matched and decide whether or not to form profitable partnerships. Each agent has a physical color and a social color. An agent's social color acts as a signal, conveying information about the physical color of agents in his partnership history. Before an agent makes a decision, he observes his match's physical and social colors. Neither the physical color nor the social color is payoff relevant. We identify environments where equilibria arise in which agents condition their decisions on the physical and social colors of their potential partners. That is, they discriminate.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcin P?ski & Bal?zs Szentes, 2013. "Spontaneous Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2412-2436, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:103:y:2013:i:6:p:2412-36
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.6.2412
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rosen, Asa, 1997. "An equilibrium search-matching model of discrimination," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1589-1613, August.
    2. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162.
    3. Roland G. Fryer Jr., 2007. "Guess Who's Been Coming to Dinner? Trends in Interracial Marriage over the 20th Century," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 71-90, Spring.
    4. Uri Gneezy & John List & Michael Price, 2012. "Toward an Understanding of Why People Discriminate: Evidence from a Series of Natural Field Experiments," Natural Field Experiments 00592, The Field Experiments Website.
    5. Phelps, Edmund S, 1972. "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 659-661, September.
    6. Coate, Stephen & Loury, Glenn C, 1993. "Will Affirmative-Action Policies Eliminate Negative Stereotypes?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1220-1240, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Daskalova, Vessela, 2018. "Discrimination, social identity, and coordination: An experiment," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 238-252.
    2. Rajesh Ramachandran & Christopher Rauh, 2018. "Discrimination without taste: how discrimination can spillover and persist," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 249-274, August.
    3. Liqui Lung, C. W., 2022. "Optimal Self-Screening and the Persistence of Identity-Driven Choices," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2274, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    4. Dimitrios Nikolaou, 2022. "Same‐sex marriage laws, LGBT hate crimes, and employment discrimination charges," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(3), pages 869-905, January.
    5. Cortés, Darwin & Gamboa, Luis Fernando & Rodríguez-Lesmes, Paul, 2020. "Contraception, Intra-household Behaviour and Epidemic: Evidence from the Zika crisis in Colombia," Working papers 66, Red Investigadores de Economía.
    6. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    7. Harbaugh, Rick & To, Ted, 2014. "Opportunistic discrimination," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 192-204.
    8. Laura Derksen & Adamson Muula & Joep van Oosterhout, 2016. "Love in the Time of HIV: Testing as a Signal of Risk," Natural Field Experiments 00550, The Field Experiments Website.
    9. Anja Prummer, "undated". "Discrimination in Promotion," Working Papers 905, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    10. Fahn, Matthias & Murooka, Takeshi, 2024. "Informal Incentives and Labor Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 17042, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Liqui Lung, C. W., 2022. "Optimal Self-Screening and the Persistence of Identity-Driven Choices," Janeway Institute Working Papers 2232, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    12. Tom Potoms & Tom Truyts, 2020. "Unhappy is the land without symbols - Group symbols in infinitely repeated public good games," Working Paper Series 1720, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    13. Dewan, Torun & Wolton, Stephane, 2019. "A Political Economy of Social Discrimination," MPRA Paper 94394, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Jurjen J. A. Kamphorst & Otto H. Swank, 2016. "Don't Demotivate, Discriminate," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 140-165, February.
    15. Lagerlöf, Johan N.M., 2020. "Strategic gains from discrimination," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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