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Delegation in Hiring: Evidence from a Two-Sided Audit

Author

Listed:
  • Cowgill, Bo

    (University of Toronto)

  • Perkowski, Patryk

    (Yeshiva University)

Abstract

Firms increasingly delegate job screening to third-party recruiters, who must not only satisfy employers' demand for different types of candidates, but also manage yield by anticipating candidates' likelihood of accepting offers. We study how recruiters balance these objectives in a novel, two-sided field experiment. Our results suggest that candidates' behavior towards employers is very correlated, but that employers' hiring behavior is more idiosyncratic. Workers discriminate using the race and gender of the employer's leaders more than employers discriminate against the candidate's race and gender. Black and female candidates face particularly high uncertainty, as their callback rates vary widely across employers. Callback decisions place about 2/3rds weight on employer's expected behavior and 1/3rd on yield management. We conclude by discussing the accuracy of recruiter beliefs and how they impact labor market sorting.

Suggested Citation

  • Cowgill, Bo & Perkowski, Patryk, 2024. "Delegation in Hiring: Evidence from a Two-Sided Audit," IZA Discussion Papers 17004, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bernd Irlenbusch & Holger A. Rau & Rainer Michael Rilke, 2026. "Human–AI Evaluation and Gender Transparency: Application Decisions in Competitive Hiring," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 398, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    2. Irlenbusch, Bernd & Rau, Holger & Rilke, Rainer, 2026. "Human-AI Evaluation and Gender Transparency: Application Decisions in Competitive Hiring," IZA Discussion Papers 18517, IZA Network @ LISER.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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