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Outsourcing recruitment as a solution to prevent discrimination: A correspondence study

Author

Listed:
  • Clémence Berson

    (Centre de recherche de la Banque de France - Banque de France, LIEPP - Laboratoire interdisciplinaire d'évaluation des politiques publiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po)

  • Morgane Laouenan

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, LIEPP - Laboratoire interdisciplinaire d'évaluation des politiques publiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po, IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics)

  • Emmanuel Valat

    (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 - Université Gustave Eiffel, DARES - Direction de l'animation de la recherche, des études et des statistiques - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé)

Abstract

In this work, we assess how the organization of recruitment in large companies affects ethnic discrimination. We consider large multi-establishment companies and distinguish two types of organization of recruitment: hiring made through a human resources (HR) department at a centralized level of the company and hiring made at only the level of the establishment concerned by the position, generally by managers in charge of recruitment. Our results indicate that access to a centralized HR department in the selection of applications has an important effect on the level of discrimination, i.e., this type of organization of recruitment results in a significant decrease in the probability that applicants with native-sounding names are solely selected.

Suggested Citation

  • Clémence Berson & Morgane Laouenan & Emmanuel Valat, 2020. "Outsourcing recruitment as a solution to prevent discrimination: A correspondence study ," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03027324, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-03027324
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101838
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03027324
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    Cited by:

    1. Lepage, Louis Pierre, 2021. "Endogenous learning, persistent employer biases, and discrimination," CLEF Working Paper Series 34, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
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    3. Lepage, Louis Pierre, 2020. "Endogenous learning and the persistence of employer biases in the labor market," CLEF Working Paper Series 24, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hiring discrimination; large companies; organization of human resources;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J78 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Public Policy (including comparable worth)
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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