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Does work experience mitigate discrimination?

Author

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  • Baert, Stijn
  • Albanese, Andrea
  • du Gardein, Sofie
  • Ovaere, Jolien
  • Stappers, Jarno

Abstract

We test whether ethnic discrimination is heterogeneous by job candidates’ work experience. Fictitious applications are sent to vacancies. We find significant discrimination when candidates have no or little experience but no unequal treatment when they have twenty years of experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Baert, Stijn & Albanese, Andrea & du Gardein, Sofie & Ovaere, Jolien & Stappers, Jarno, 2017. "Does work experience mitigate discrimination?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 35-38.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:155:y:2017:i:c:p:35-38
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2017.03.011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stijn Baert & Bart Cockx & Niels Gheyle & Cora Vandamme, 2015. "Is There Less Discrimination in Occupations Where Recruitment Is Difficult?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(3), pages 467-500, May.
    2. Baert, Stijn & Vujić, Sunčica, 2016. "Immigrant volunteering: A way out of labour market discrimination?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 95-98.
    3. Alberto Bisin & Eleonora Patacchini & Thierry Verdier & Yves Zenou, 2011. "Ethnic identity and labour market outcomes of immigrants in Europe [Assessing the oppositional culture explanation for racial/ethnic differences in school performance]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(65), pages 57-92.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Alison L. Booth & Andrew Leigh & Elena Varganova, 2012. "Does Ethnic Discrimination Vary Across Minority Groups? Evidence from a Field Experiment," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(4), pages 547-573, August.
    7. Stijn Baert & Frank W. Heiland & Sanders Korenman, 2016. "Native-Immigrant Gaps in Educational and School-to-Work Transitions in the 2nd Generation: The Role of Gender and Ethnicity," De Economist, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 159-186, June.
    8. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2008. "Measuring Ethnic Identity and its Impact on Economic Behavior," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(2-3), pages 424-433, 04-05.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ek, Simon & Hammarstedt, Mats & Skedinger, Per, 2021. "Low-Skilled Jobs, Language Proficiency and Refugee Integration: An Experimental Study," Working Paper Series 1398, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    2. Akhlaq Ahmad, 2020. "Do Equal Qualifications Yield Equal Rewards for Immigrants in the Labour Market?," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(5), pages 826-843, October.
    3. Noa Achouche, 2025. "The Labor Market Challenges and Coping Strategies of Highly Skilled Second-Generation Immigrants in Europe: A Scoping Review," Societies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Oliver Kovacs, 2025. "The interdisciplinarity of degrowth: cross-fertilising disciplines for well-being," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 72(2), pages 1-38, December.
    5. Gaddis, S. Michael, 2018. "An Introduction to Audit Studies in the Social Sciences," SocArXiv e5hfc, Center for Open Science.
    6. M. Garrett Roth & William P McAndrew, 2025. "Teaching, research, and faculty salary inequality in American public university systems: An exploratory analysis," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 45(1), pages 30-40.
    7. Louise Devos & Louis Lippens & Dries Lens & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral & Stijn Baert, 2025. "Labour Market Disadvantages of Citizens with a Migration Background in Belgium: A Systematic Review," De Economist, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 121-175, March.
    8. Simon Ek & Mats Hammarstedt & Per Skedinger, 2024. "Low‐skilled jobs, language proficiency, and job opportunities for refugees: an experimental study," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 126(2), pages 355-386, April.
    9. Drydakis, Nick, 2017. "Measuring labour differences between natives, non-natives, and natives with an ethnic-minority background," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 27-30.
    10. 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.
    11. Irma Baraku & Giovanni Busetta, 2025. "Statistical and taste-based discrimination in the labor market: an analysis of European Countries to identify optimal policy interventions," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 621-638, February.
    12. Ruzzier, Christian A. & Woo, Marcelo D., 2023. "Discrimination with inaccurate beliefs and confirmation bias," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 379-390.
    13. Céline Piton & François Rycx, 2021. "A Broken Social Elevator? Employment Outcomes of First- and Second-Generation Immigrants in Belgium," De Economist, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 319-365, August.
    14. 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.
    15. Valfort, Marie-Anne, 2020. "Anti-Muslim discrimination in France: Evidence from a field experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    16. Asali, Muhammad & Pignatti, Norberto & Skhirtladze, Sophiko, 2018. "Employment discrimination in a former Soviet Union Republic: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1294-1309.
    17. Attakrit Leckcivilize & Alexander Straub, 2018. "Headscarf and job recruitment—lifting the veil of labour market discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-32, December.
    18. Lennart Hofeditz & Sünje Clausen & Alexander Rieß & Milad Mirbabaie & Stefan Stieglitz, 2022. "Applying XAI to an AI-based system for candidate management to mitigate bias and discrimination in hiring," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 2207-2233, December.
    19. Vernby, Kåre & Dancygier, Rafaela, 2018. "Employer discrimination and the immutability of ethnic hierarchies," Working Paper Series 2018:17, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    20. 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).
    21. Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Hiring Discrimination: An Overview of (Almost) All Correspondence Experiments Since 2005," IZA Discussion Papers 10738, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. 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).
    23. Céline Piton, 2022. "The labour market performance of vulnerable groups: towards a better understanding of the main driving forces," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/352519, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    24. Céline Piton & François Rycx, 2020. "The heterogeneous employment outcomes of first- and second-generation immigrants in Belgium," Working Paper Research 381, National Bank of Belgium.

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    Keywords

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    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
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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