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What Does a Job Candidate’s Age Signal to Employers?

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  • Van Borm, Hannah
  • Burn, Ian
  • Baert, Stijn

Abstract

Research has shown that hiring discrimination is a barrier for older job candidates in many OECD countries. However, little research has delved into why older job candidates are discriminated against. Therefore, we have conducted an online scenario experiment involving recruiters to empirically investigate 15 potential stigma related to older age drawn from a systematic review of the literature. We found that older age particularly signals to recruiters that the applicant has lower technological skill, flexibility, and trainability levels. Together, these perceptions explain about 41% of the effect of age on the probability of being invited to a job interview. In addition, we found that the negative association between age and invitation probability is smaller when recruiters work for firms with a higher percentage of older employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Borm, Hannah & Burn, Ian & Baert, Stijn, 2019. "What Does a Job Candidate’s Age Signal to Employers?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 434, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:434
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    Cited by:

    1. Sterkens, Philippe & Baert, Stijn & Rooman, Claudia & Derous, Eva, 2021. "As if it weren’t hard enough already: Breaking down hiring discrimination following burnout," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    2. Ian Burn & Patrick Button & Luis Felipe Munguia Corella & David Neumark, 2019. "Older Workers Need Not Apply? Ageist Language in Job Ads and Age Discrimination in Hiring," NBER Working Papers 26552, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Sterkens, Philippe & Baert, Stijn & Rooman, Claudia & Derous, Eva, 2021. "Why Making Promotion After a Burnout Is Like Boiling the Ocean," GLO Discussion Paper Series 871, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Joanna N. Lahey & Douglas R. Oxley, 2021. "Discrimination at the Intersection of Age, Race, and Gender: Evidence from an Eye‐Tracking Experiment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(4), pages 1083-1119, September.
    5. Hannah Van Borm & Stijn Baert, 2022. "Diving in the minds of recruiters: What triggers gender stereotypes in hiring?," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 22/1043, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    6. Van Borm, Hannah & Baert, Stijn, 2022. "Diving in the minds of recruiters: What triggers gender stereotypes in hiring?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1083, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Baert, Stijn & Clays, Els & Derous, Eva & George, Bert & Neyt, Brecht & Schollaert, Eveline & Wille, Bart, 2021. "Labour Market Policy if the General Public Was in Charge," IZA Policy Papers 176, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Philippe Sterkens & Stijn Baert & Claudia Rooman & Eva Derous, 2020. "As if it weren’t hard enough already: Breaking down hiring discrimination following burnout A causal machine learning evaluation of training in Belgium," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 20/1000, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    hiring; statistical discrimination; age; stereotypes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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