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A Discrimination Report Card

Author

Listed:
  • Patrick M. Kline
  • Evan K. Rose
  • Christopher R. Walters

Abstract

We develop an empirical Bayes ranking procedure that assigns ordinal grades to noisy measurements, balancing the information content of the assigned grades against the expected frequency of ranking errors. Applying the method to a massive correspondence experiment, we grade the race and gender contact gaps of 97 U.S. employers, the identities of which we disclose for the first time. The grades are presented alongside measures of uncertainty about each firm’s contact gap in an accessible report card that is easily adaptable to other settings where ranks and levels are of simultaneous interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick M. Kline & Evan K. Rose & Christopher R. Walters, 2024. "A Discrimination Report Card," NBER Working Papers 32313, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32313
    Note: LE LS PE TWP
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    Cited by:

    1. repec:osf:socarx:5ctms_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Christopher R. Walters, 2024. "Empirical Bayes Methods in Labor Economics," NBER Working Papers 33091, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. JoonHo Lee & Daihe Sui, 2025. "Fully Bayesian Inference for Meta-Analytic Deconvolution Using Efron’s Log-Spline Prior," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-49, August.
    4. Jiaying Gu & Nikolaos Ignatiadis & Azeem M. Shaikh, 2025. "Reasonable uncertainty: Confidence intervals in empirical Bayes discrimination detection," Papers 2508.13110, arXiv.org.
    5. Melo, Vitor & Rocha, Hugo Vaca Pereira & Sigaud, Liam & Warren, Patrick L. & Gaddis, S. Michael, 2024. "Understanding Discrimination in College Admissions: A Field Experiment," SocArXiv 5ctms, Center for Open Science.
    6. Sarah Moon, 2025. "Optimal Policy Choices Under Uncertainty," Papers 2503.03910, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2026.
    7. Patrick Bayer & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Ellora Derenoncourt, 2025. "Racial Inequality in the Labor Market," Working Papers 343, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    8. Walters, Christopher, 2024. "Empirical Bayes methods in labor economics," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    9. Juan C. Yamin, 2025. "Poverty Targeting with Imperfect Information," Papers 2506.18188, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C11 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Bayesian Analysis: General
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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