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Discrimination Against Migrant Job Applicants in Austria: An Experimental Study

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  • Weichselbaumer Doris

    (University ofLinz, Austria)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examined the employment opportunities of Austrians with and without a migration background when applying for job openings. Previous experiments used applicants’ names as indicators for different ethnicities, but this signal may not always be perceived as intended by the experimenters. In this study, a novel approach was applied that signals ethnic background using carefully matched photos as distinct visual cues. While the results document employment discrimination against all groups with a migration background, it is most pronounced for applicants with African heritage. To determine why and when discrimination occurs, an array of firm- and job-specific characteristics were examined. However, they offer little help in explaining the level of employment discrimination in Austria.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:germec:v:18:y:2017:i:2:p:237-265
    DOI: 10.1111/geer.12104
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    Cited by:

    1. Ayaita, Adam, 2021. "Labor Market Discrimination and Statistical Differences in Unobserved Characteristics of Applicants," EconStor Preprints 236615, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Gaddis, S. Michael, 2018. "An Introduction to Audit Studies in the Social Sciences," SocArXiv e5hfc, Center for Open Science.
    3. Lex Thijssen & Marcel Coenders & Bram Lancee, 2021. "Ethnic Discrimination in the Dutch Labor Market: Differences Between Ethnic Minority Groups and the Role of Personal Information About Job Applicants—Evidence from a Field Experiment," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1125-1150, September.
    4. Lippens, Louis & Baert, Stijn & Ghekiere, Abel & Verhaeghe, Pieter-Paul & Derous, Eva, 2020. "Is labour market discrimination against ethnic minorities better explained by taste or statistics? A systematic review of the empirical evidence," GLO Discussion Paper Series 615, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Pulido, José & Varón, Alejandra, 2024. "Misallocation of the immigrant workforce: Aggregate productivity effects for the host country," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Weichselbaumer, Doris & Riess, Hermann, 2024. "Discrimination in the Austrian rental housing market: The effect of information concerning first and second-generation immigrant status," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Zwickl, Klara & Miklin, Xenia & Naqvi, Asjad, 2024. "Sociodemographic disparities in ambient particulate matter exposure in Austria," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    8. Kåre Vernby & Rafaela Dancygier, 2019. "Can immigrants counteract employer discrimination? A factorial field experiment reveals the immutability of ethnic hierarchies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Zhongmin Wang & Xinlin Jing, 2018. "Job Satisfaction Among Immigrant Workers: A Review of Determinants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 381-401, August.
    10. Ayaita, Adam, 2023. "Ethnic Minority Background and Personality Characteristics: Evidence from a Representative Sample of the Adult Population," EconStor Preprints 251745, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, revised 2023.
    11. Thijssen, Lex & Lancee, Bram & Veit, Susanne & Yemane, Ruta, 2021. "Discrimination against Turkish minorities in Germany and the Netherlands: field experimental evidence on the effect of diagnostic information on labour market outcomes," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(6), pages 1222-1239.
    12. Martínez-Alfaro, Alejandra & Silverio-Murillo, Adan & Balmori-de-la-Miyar, Jose, 2024. "What's in a name? Evidence of transgender labor discrimination in Mexico," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    13. Lippens, Louis & Baert, Stijn & Derous, Eva, 2021. "Loss aversion in taste-based employee discrimination: Evidence from a choice experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    14. Torres,Javier & Acosta, Pablo Ariel & Canavire Bacarreza, Gustavo Javier, 2025. "The Impact of Credential Recognition : Evidence from Venezuelan Health Professionals in Peru," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11162, The World Bank.
    15. Weichselbaumer, Doris & Schuster, Julia, 2021. "The Effect of Photos and a Local-Sounding Name on Discrimination against Ethnic Minorities in Austria," IZA Discussion Papers 14495, IZA Network @ LISER.
    16. Ayaita, Adam, 2023. "Is There an Ethnic Pay Gap in Germany? Evidence from a Representative Sample of the Adult Population," EconStor Preprints 267865, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    17. Carol, Sarah & Kuipers, Coco & Koesling, Philipp & Kaspers, Milan, 2021. "Ethnic and Religious Discrimination in the Wedding Venue Business: Evidence from Two Field Experiments in Germany and Austria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Advance A, pages 1-1.
    18. Krafft, Caroline, 2025. "Do employers discriminate against married women? Evidence from a field experiment in Egypt," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    19. Lippens, Louis & Dalle, Axana & D'hondt, Fanny & Verhaeghe, Pieter-Paul & Baert, Stijn, 2023. "Understanding ethnic hiring discrimination: A contextual analysis of experimental evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    20. Veit, Susanne & Thijsen, Lex, 2019. "Almost identical but still treated differently: hiring discrimination against foreign-born and domestic-born minorities," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(6), pages 1285-1304.

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