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Partisan Discrimination in Hiring

Author

Listed:
  • Abel, Martin

    (Bowdoin College)

  • Robbett, Andrea

    (Middlebury College)

  • Stone, Daniel F.

    (Bowdoin College)

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the role of politics in hiring decisions. Participants acted as employers, determining the highest wage to offer candidates based only on their demographic characteristics, education, and partisanship. We find that both Democratic and Republican participants significantly favor co-partisans, with an out-partisan wage penalty of 7.5%. Discrimination is consistent across tasks that focus respectively on competence, shirking, feedback responsiveness, and voluntary effort, and appears largely driven by biased beliefs about partisan productivity, while affective polarization is also predictive of the out-partisan wage penalty. Discrimination does not increase in a treatment where workers benefit financially from being hired.

Suggested Citation

  • Abel, Martin & Robbett, Andrea & Stone, Daniel F., 2024. "Partisan Discrimination in Hiring," IZA Discussion Papers 17540, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17540
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alexia Delfino & Miguel Espinosa, 2025. "Value Dissonance at Work," CESifo Working Paper Series 11690, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    discrimination; affective polarization; inaccurate beliefs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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