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Can skills alleviate ethnic discrimination in hiring?

Author

Listed:
  • Shirshikova, Alina

    (ROA / Human capital in the region)

  • Cörvers, Frank

    (RS: GSBE MORSE, RS: FdR Institute ITEM, RS: GSBE - MACIMIDE, ROA / Human capital in the region)

  • Montizaan, Raymond

    (RS: GSBE UM-BIC, ROA / Labour market and training)

  • Pfeifer, Harald

    (RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, ROA / Labour market and training)

Abstract

This study investigates whether the social, digital, and analytical skills of job applicants, as well as their knowledge about the profession, can mitigate ethnic disparities in entry-level positions in the labour market. We conducted a survey experiment among a large, nationally representative sample of German firms that hire apprentices. We asked recruiters to evaluate the probability of inviting fictitious applicants to a job interview based on randomised characteristics, including ethnicity, skill quality, gender, time of residence, and education level. Our results show heterogeneous effects of skills on ethnic discrimination. While social skills help alleviate discrimination, our results indicate that discrimination intensifies at higher levels of knowledge about the profession, implying greater disparities due to ethnic discrimination at the top of the skill distribution. We also found that the effect of skills differs depending on the ethnicity of the applicant.

Suggested Citation

  • Shirshikova, Alina & Cörvers, Frank & Montizaan, Raymond & Pfeifer, Harald, 2025. "Can skills alleviate ethnic discrimination in hiring?," ROA Research Memorandum 002, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:umaror:2025002
    DOI: 10.26481/umaror.2025002
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • 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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