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Does age matter for employability? A field experiment on ageism in the Swedish labour market

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  • Ali M. Ahmed
  • Lina Andersson
  • Mats Hammarstedt

Abstract

This article presents the findings of the first field experiment on age discrimination in the Swedish labour market. Pairs of matched applications, one from a fictitious 31-year-old male applicant and one from a fictitious 46-year-old male applicant, were sent to employers with job openings for restaurant workers and sales assistants. Employers' responses to the applicants were then recorded. The experimental data provide clear and strong evidence of significant ageism in the Swedish labour market. On average, the younger applicant received over 3 times more responses from employers looking to hire a restaurant worker and over 4 times more responses from employers looking to hire a sales assistant than the older applicant. Therefore, the older applicant received significantly fewer invitations for interviews and job offers than the younger applicant in both occupations examined.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali M. Ahmed & Lina Andersson & Mats Hammarstedt, 2012. "Does age matter for employability? A field experiment on ageism in the Swedish labour market," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 403-406, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:19:y:2012:i:4:p:403-406
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2011.581199
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Susaeta, Lourdes & Suárez Ruz, Esperanza & Gutiérrez-Martínez, Isis & Idrovo Carlier, Sandra & Pin, José Ramon, 2015. "A Comparative Analysis of Youth Labor Market Exclusion," IESE Research Papers D/1100, IESE Business School.
    2. Ahmed, Ali & Andersson, Lina & Hammarstedt, Mats, 2011. "Are homosexuals discriminated against in the hiring process?," Working Paper Series 2011:21, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    3. Carlsson, Magnus & Eriksson, Stefan, 2017. "The effect of age and gender on labor demand – evidence from a field experiment," Working Paper Series 2017:8, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    4. Nick Drydakis & Peter MacDonald & Vangelis Chiotis & Laurence Somers, 2018. "Age discrimination in the UK labour market. Does race moderate ageism? An experimental investigation," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 1-4, January.
    5. Ali M. Ahmed & Elisabeth Lång, 2017. "The employability of ex-offenders: a field experiment in the Swedish labor market," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo, 2016. "Field Experiments on Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 22014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Karaarslan, Can, 2021. "Differences in Unemployment due to Sexual Orientation: Evidence from the Swedish Labour Market," Working Papers for Marketing & Management 52, Offenburg University, Department of Media and Information.
    8. Stefan Eriksson & Per Johansson & Sophie Langenskiöld, 2017. "What is the right profile for getting a job? A stated choice experiment of the recruitment process," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 803-826, September.
    9. Gustafsson, Björn Anders & Mac Innes, Hanna & Österberg, Torun, 2016. "Age at Immigration Matters for Labor Market Integration: The Swedish Example," IZA Discussion Papers 10423, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Hiring Discrimination: An Overview of (Almost) All Correspondence Experiments Since 2005," GLO Discussion Paper Series 61, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Van Borm, Hannah & Burn, Ian & Baert, Stijn, 2021. "What Does a Job Candidate's Age Signal to Employers?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    12. Carlsson, Magnus & Eriksson, Stefan, 2019. "Age discrimination in hiring decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in the labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 173-183.
    13. Stijn Baert & Sunčica Vujić, 2018. "Does it pay to care? Volunteering and employment opportunities," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 819-836, July.
    14. Baert, Stijn & Norga, Jennifer & Thuy, Yannick & Van Hecke, Marieke, 2016. "Getting grey hairs in the labour market. An alternative experiment on age discrimination," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 86-101.
    15. Ali M. Ahmed & Lina Andersson & Mats Hammarstedt, 2013. "Are Gay Men and Lesbians Discriminated against in the Hiring Process?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(3), pages 565-585, January.
    16. Konrad Turek & Kène Henkens, 2020. "How Skill Requirements Affect the Likelihood of Recruitment of Older Workers in Poland: The Indirect Role of Age Stereotypes," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(4), pages 550-570, August.
    17. Tom Lane, 2020. "Along which identity lines does 21st-century Britain divide? Evidence from Big Brother," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(2), pages 197-222, May.
    18. Jakob Molinder, 2022. "How effective are mobility subsidies in targeting the unemployed? Lessons from the Swedish Model, 1965–1975," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1724-1746, November.
    19. Granberg, Mark & Andersson, Per A. & Ahmed, Ali, 2020. "Hiring Discrimination Against Transgender People: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Aldén, Lina & Hammarstedt, Mats, 2018. "Self-employment and Life Satisfaction among the Elderly: Survey-based Evidence from Sweden," Working Paper Series 1229, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.

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