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Statistical Discrimination and Affirmative Action in the Lab

Author

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  • Yariv, Leeat
  • Dianat, Ahrash
  • Echenique, Federico

Abstract

We present results from laboratory experiments studying the impacts of affirmative action policies. We induce statistical discrimination in simple labor-market interactions between firms and workers. We then introduce affirmative-action policies that vary in the size and duration of a subsidy firms receive for hiring discriminated-against workers. These different affirmative-action policies have nearly the same effect and practically eliminate discriminatory hiring practices. However, once lifted, few positive effects remain and discrimination reverts to its initial levels. One exception is lengthy affirmative-action policies, which exhibit somewhat longer-lived effects. Stickiness of beliefs, which we elicit, helps explain the evolution of these outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Yariv, Leeat & Dianat, Ahrash & Echenique, Federico, 2018. "Statistical Discrimination and Affirmative Action in the Lab," CEPR Discussion Papers 12915, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12915
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    Cited by:

    1. Rapoport, Elena & Volkova, Natalia V. & Barajas, Angel, 2026. "Women and men in tech: Invisible barriers, gendered self-perception, and the social reshaping of work," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Mallory Avery & Andreas Leibbrandt & Joseph Vecci, 2023. "Does Artificial Intelligence Help or Hurt Gender Diversity? Evidence from Two Field Experiments on Recruitment in Tech," Monash Economics Working Papers 2023-09, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    3. Charles Po-Cheng Huang, 2026. "Screening Workers with Affirmative Action," Papers 2604.00615, arXiv.org.
    4. Junpei Komiyama & Shunya Noda, 2026. "On Statistical Discrimination as a Failure of Social Learning: A Multiarmed Bandit Approach," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 72(1), pages 442-455, January.
    5. José J. Domínguez, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Committee Quotas; The Role of Group Dynamics," ThE Papers 21/12, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    6. Dustan, Andrew & Koutout, Kristine & Leo, Greg, 2022. "Second-order beliefs and gender," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 752-781.
    7. Domínguez, José J., 2023. "Diversified committees in hiring processes: Lab evidence on group dynamics," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. José J. Domínguez & Natalia Montinari, 2021. "Gender Quotas and Task Assignment in Organizations," ThE Papers 21/13, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    9. 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.
    10. Pol Campos-Mercade & Friederike Mengel, 2024. "Non-Bayesian Statistical Discrimination," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(4), pages 2549-2567, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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