IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rug/rugwps/13-830.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Do Employers Discriminate Less if Vacancies Are Difficult to Fill? Evidence From a Field Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • S. BAERT
  • B. COCKX
  • N. GHEYLE
  • C. VANDAMME

Abstract

We empirically test the relationship between hiring discrimination and labour market tightness at the level of the occupation. To this end, we conduct a correspondence test in the youth labour market. In line with theoretical expectations, we find that, compared to natives, can- didates with a foreign sounding name are equally often invited to a job interview if they apply for occupations for which vacancies are difficult to fill, but they have to send twice as many applications for occupa- tions for which labour market tightness is low. Our findings are robust against various sensitivity checks.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Baert & B. Cockx & N. Gheyle & C. Vandamme, 2013. "Do Employers Discriminate Less if Vacancies Are Difficult to Fill? Evidence From a Field Experiment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 13/830, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    • Handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:13/830
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://wps-feb.ugent.be/Papers/wp_13_830.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul J. Taubman & Terence Wales, 1974. "Education on a Screening Device," NBER Chapters, in: Higher Education and Earnings: College as an Investment and Screening Device, pages 153-174, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bursell, Moa, 2007. "What's in a name? A field experiment test for the existence of ethnic discrimination in the hiring process," SULCIS Working Papers 2007:7, Stockholm University, Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS.
    3. Manning, Alan, 2003. "The real thin theory: monopsony in modern labour markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 105-131, April.
    4. Sandra E. Black & Elizabeth Brainerd, 2004. "Importing Equality? The Impact of Globalization on Gender Discrimination," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(4), pages 540-559, July.
    5. Drydakis, Nick, 2009. "Sexual orientation discrimination in the labour market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 364-372, August.
    6. Kaas Leo & Manger Christian, 2012. "Ethnic Discrimination in Germany’s Labour Market: A Field Experiment," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, February.
    7. James J. Heckman, 1998. "Detecting Discrimination," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 101-116, Spring.
    8. Asa Rosen, 2003. "Search, Bargaining, and Employer Discrimination," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(4), pages 807-830, October.
    9. Gregg, Paul & Tominey, Emma, 2005. "The wage scar from male youth unemployment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 487-509, August.
    10. David Neumark, 2012. "Detecting Discrimination in Audit and Correspondence Studies," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(4), pages 1128-1157.
    11. Doris Weichselbaumer, 2004. "Is It Sex or Personality? The Impact of Sex Stereotypes on Discrimination in Applicant Selection," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 159-186, Spring.
    12. Judith K. Hellerstein & David Neumark & Kenneth R. Troske, 2002. "Market Forces and Sex Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(2), pages 353-380.
    13. Pascale Petit, 2004. "Hiring discrimination: a field experiment in the French financial sector," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques v04086, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    14. George A. Akerlof, 1997. "Social Distance and Social Decisions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(5), pages 1005-1028, September.
    15. Bart Capéau & Lieve Eeman & Steven Groenez & Miet Lamberts, 2012. "Two concepts of discrimination: inequality of opportunity versus unequal treatment of equals," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2012-021, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    16. Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2007. "Evidence of Unequal Treatment in Hiring against Obese Applicants: A Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 2775, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Carlsson, Magnus & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2007. "Evidence of ethnic discrimination in the Swedish labor market using experimental data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 716-729, August.
    18. Weichselbaumer, Doris, 2003. "Sexual orientation discrimination in hiring," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 629-642, December.
    19. Clémence Berson, 2012. "Does Competition Induce Hiring Equity ?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00718627, HAL.
    20. Carlsson, Magnus, 2008. "Is it Your Foreign Name or Foreign Qualifications? An Experimental Study of Ethnic Discrimination in Hiring," CAFO Working Papers 2009:2, Linnaeus University, Centre for Labour Market Policy Research (CAFO), School of Business and Economics.
    21. Nick Drydakis & Minas Vlassis, 2010. "Ethnic Discrimination In The Greek Labour Market: Occupational Access, Insurance Coverage And Wage Offers," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 78(3), pages 201-218, June.
    22. Jeff Biddle & Daniel Hamermesh, 2013. "Wage discrimination over the business cycle," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-19, December.
    23. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    24. Orley Ashenfelter, 1970. "Changes in Labor Market Discrimination Over Time," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 5(4), pages 403-430.
    25. Orley Ashenfelter & Timothy Hannan, 1986. "Sex Discrimination and Product Market Competition: The Case of the Banking Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(1), pages 149-173.
    26. James Peoples & Lisa Saunders, 1993. "Trucking Deregulation and the Black/White Wage Gap," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 47(1), pages 23-35, October.
    27. Black, Dan A, 1995. "Discrimination in an Equilibrium Search Model," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 309-333, April.
    28. McGinnity, Frances & Nelson, Jacqueline & Lunn, Pete & Quinn, Emma, 2009. "Discrimination in Recruitment: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT137.
    29. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2001. "The Division of Spoils: Rent-Sharing and Discrimination in a Regulated Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 814-831, September.
    30. Arulampalam, Wiji, 2001. "Is Unemployment Really Scarring? Effects of Unemployment Experiences on Wages," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(475), pages 585-606, November.
    31. Carlsson, Magnus & Eriksson, Stefan, 2012. "Do Reported Attitudes towards Immigrants Predict Ethnic Discrimination?," Working Paper Series 2012:6, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    32. Gregg, Paul, 2001. "The Impact of Youth Unemployment on Adult Unemployment in the NCDS," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(475), pages 626-653, November.
    33. Paul J. Taubman & Terence Wales, 1974. "Higher Education and Earnings: College as an Investment and Screening Device," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number taub74-1.
    34. Peter A. Riach & Judith Rich, 2004. "Deceptive Field Experiments of Discrimination: Are they Ethical?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 457-470, August.
    35. Bart Capéau & Lieve Eeman & Steven Groenez & Miet Lamberts, 2012. "Standardised Scores as a Way to measure and Compare Discrimination Across Dimensions," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2012-022, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Discrimination is a luxury
      by Nicholas Gruen in Club Troppo on 2013-02-13 16:25:24

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Baert, Stijn & Cockx, Bart, 2013. "Pure ethnic gaps in educational attainment and school to work transitions: When do they arise?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 276-294.
    2. Alexandra Mergener & Tobias Maier, 2019. "Immigrants’ Chances of Being Hired at Times of Skill Shortages: Results from a Factorial Survey Experiment Among German Employers," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 155-177, February.
    3. Cockx, Bart, 2013. "Youth Unemployment in Belgium: Diagnosis and Key Remedies," IZA Policy Papers 66, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Patrick Button, 2019. "Population Aging, Age Discrimination, and Age Discrimination Protections at the 50th Anniversary of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act," NBER Working Papers 25850, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Emmanuel Duguet & Loïc du Parquet & Yannick L'Horty & Pacale Petit, 2019. "Counterproductive Hiring Discrimination Against Women: Evidence From a French Correspondence Test," TEPP Working Paper 2019-06, TEPP.
    6. Carlsson, Magnus & Fumarco, Luca & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2013. "Artifactual evidence of discrimination in correspondence studies? A replication of the Neumark method," POLIS Working Papers 172, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    7. Arni, Patrick, 2012. "Kausale Evaluation von Pilotprojekten: Die Nutzung von Randomisierung in der Praxis," IZA Standpunkte 52, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Weichselbaumer Doris, 2017. "Discrimination Against Migrant Job Applicants in Austria: An Experimental Study," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 18(2), pages 237-265, May.
    9. Zschirnt, Eva & Ruedin, Didier, 2016. "Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: A meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015," EconStor Preprints 142176, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    10. Emmanuel Duguet & Rémi Le Gall & Yannick L’Horty & Pascale Petit, 2018. "How does labour market history influence the access to hiring interviews?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 39(4), pages 519-533, July.
    11. Stijn Baert, 2014. "Career lesbians. Getting hired for not having kids?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(6), pages 543-561, November.
    12. Nunley John M. & Pugh Adam & Romero Nicholas & Seals R. Alan, 2015. "Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market for Recent College Graduates: Evidence from a Field Experiment," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(3), pages 1093-1125, July.
    13. Binnur Balkan & Seyit Mümin Cilasun, 2018. "Ethnic Discrimination in the Turkish Labor Market: Evidence From Survey and Field Data," Working Papers 1197, Economic Research Forum, revised 24 May 2018.
    14. Rich, Judy, 2014. "What Do Field Experiments of Discrimination in Markets Tell Us? A Meta Analysis of Studies Conducted since 2000," IZA Discussion Papers 8584, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. K. Burggraeve & C. Piton, 2016. "The economic consequences of the flow of refugees into Belgium," Economic Review, National Bank of Belgium, issue i, pages 43-61, June.
    16. Guillaume Pierné, 2013. "Hiring discrimination based on national origin and religious closeness: results from a field experiment in the Paris area," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-15, December.
    17. Magnus Carlsson & Luca Fumarco & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2014. "Does the design of correspondence studies influence the measurement of discrimination?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-17, December.
    18. Auspurg, Katrin & Schneck, Andreas & Thiel, Fabian, 2020. "Different samples, different results? How sampling techniques affect the results of field experiments on ethnic discrimination," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 0.
    19. Stijn Baert & Elsy Verhofstadt, 2015. "Labour market discrimination against former juvenile delinquents: evidence from a field experiment," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(11), pages 1061-1072, March.
    20. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo, 2016. "Field Experiments on Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 22014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. John M. Nunley & Adam Pugh & Nicholas Romero & Richard Alan Seals, Jr., 2014. "An Examination of Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market for Recent College Graduates: Estimates from the Field," Auburn Economics Working Paper Series auwp2014-06, Department of Economics, Auburn University.
    22. Julie Maes & Jonas Wood & Karel Neels, 2023. "Path-Dependencies in Employment Trajectories Around Motherhood: Comparing Native Versus Second-Generation Migrant Women in Belgium," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 281-344, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stijn Baert, 2014. "Career lesbians. Getting hired for not having kids?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(6), pages 543-561, November.
    2. David Neumark, 2018. "Experimental Research on Labor Market Discrimination," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 799-866, September.
    3. Doris Weichselbaumer, 2017. "Discrimination Against Migrant Job Applicants in Austria: An Experimental Study," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 18(2), pages 237-265, May.
    4. Rich, Judy, 2014. "What Do Field Experiments of Discrimination in Markets Tell Us? A Meta Analysis of Studies Conducted since 2000," IZA Discussion Papers 8584, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. 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.
    6. Clémence Berson, 2016. "Local labor markets and taste-based discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Stijn Baert & Elsy Verhofstadt, 2015. "Labour market discrimination against former juvenile delinquents: evidence from a field experiment," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(11), pages 1061-1072, March.
    8. 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.
    9. Gaddis, S. Michael, 2018. "An Introduction to Audit Studies in the Social Sciences," SocArXiv e5hfc, Center for Open Science.
    10. Stijn Baert & Ann-Sophie De Pauw & Nick Deschacht, 2016. "Do Employer Preferences Contribute to Sticky Floors?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 69(3), pages 714-736, May.
    11. Andrea Weber & Christine Zulehner, 2014. "Competition And Gender Prejudice: Are Discriminatory Employers Doomed To Fail?," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 492-521, April.
    12. Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Hiring Discrimination: An Overview of (Almost) All Correspondence Experiments Since 2005," GLO Discussion Paper Series 61, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Clémence Berson, 2012. "Does Competition Induce Hiring Equity ?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00718627, HAL.
    14. Valentine Fays & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2021. "Wage discrimination based on the country of birth: do tenure and product market competition matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(13), pages 1551-1571, March.
    15. Adermon, Adrian & Hensvik, Lena, 2022. "Gig-jobs: Stepping stones or dead ends?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Doris Weichselbaumer, 2015. "Testing for Discrimination against Lesbians of Different Marital Status: A Field Experiment," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 131-161, January.
    17. Weichselbaumer, Doris, 2015. "Discrimination against Migrants in Austria: An Experimental Study," IZA Discussion Papers 9354, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Auspurg, Katrin & Schneck, Andreas & Thiel, Fabian, 2020. "Different samples, different results? How sampling techniques affect the results of field experiments on ethnic discrimination," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 0.
    19. Berson, Clémence & Laouénan, Morgane & Valat, Emmanuel, 2020. "Outsourcing recruitment as a solution to prevent discrimination: A correspondence study," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    20. Ederington, Josh & Sandford, Jeremy, 2016. "Employer discrimination and market structure: Does more concentration mean more discrimination?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-33.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    hiring discrimination; ethnic discrimination; labour market tightness; field experiments.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:13/830. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Nathalie Verhaeghe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ferugbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.