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Roma and Bureaucrats: A Field Experiment in the Czech Republic

Author

Listed:
  • Štěpán Mikula

    (Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University)

  • Josef Montag

    (Department of Economics, Faculty of Law, Charles University)

Abstract

This paper tests for discriminatory treatment of the Roma minority by public officials in the Czech Republic. Our focus is on public servants at local job centers whose job is to advise unemployed individuals and process applications for unemployment benefit. Our experimental design facilitates testing for the presence of each of two key (but intertwined) drivers of discrimination: ethnic animus and socioeconomic status prejudice. We find substantial evidence for the presence of discrimination based on both of these sources. Since Roma tend to have lower socioeconomic status, the two sources of discrimination compound for them.

Suggested Citation

  • Štěpán Mikula & Josef Montag, 2022. "Roma and Bureaucrats: A Field Experiment in the Czech Republic," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2022-01, Masaryk University, revised Feb 2023.
    • Handle: RePEc:mub:wpaper:2022-01
    DOI: 10.5817/WP_MUNI_ECON_2022-01
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Discrimination; Roma; ethnicity; socioeconomic status; public services; social security; field experiment.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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