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How Do You Say Your Name? Difficult-to-Pronounce Names and Labor Market Outcomes

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  • Qi Ge
  • Stephen Wu

Abstract

We test for labor market discrimination based on an understudied characteristic: name fluency. Analysis of recent economics PhD job candidates indicates that name difficulty is negatively related to the probability of landing an academic or tenure-track position and research productivity of initial institutional placement. Discrimination due to name fluency is also found using experimental data from prior audit studies. Within samples of African Americans (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2004) and ethnic immigrants (Oreopoulos 2011), job applicants with less fluent names experience lower callback rates, and name complexity explains roughly between 10 and 50 percent of ethnic name penalties. The results are primarily driven by candidates with weaker résumés, suggesting that cognitive biases may contribute to the penalty of having a difficult-to-pronounce name.

Suggested Citation

  • Qi Ge & Stephen Wu, 2024. "How Do You Say Your Name? Difficult-to-Pronounce Names and Labor Market Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 254-279, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:16:y:2024:i:4:p:254-79
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20220611
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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