Employment Discrimination in a Former Soviet Union Republic: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Muhammad Asali, Norberto Pignatti and Sophiko Skhirtladze

No 11056, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We provide the first experimental evidence about ethnic discrimination in the labor market in Georgia. We randomly assign Georgian and non-Georgian, male and female, names to similar resumes and apply for jobs as advertised in help-wanted web sites in Georgia. We find that gender has no effect on the probability of callback, but a job applicant who is ethnic Georgian is twice more likely to be called for a job interview than an equally skilled ethnic non-Georgian (Azeri or Armenian). The almost 100% gap in callbacks is statistically significant and cannot be abridged by having more experience or education. Both taste-based discrimination and statistical discrimination models are consistent with the evidence provided in this study. Labor market discrimination tends to aggravate in economic busts.

Keywords: employment discrimination; field experiment; former Soviet Union; business cycles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 J15 J71 P23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2017-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-cta, nep-exp and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - revised version published in: Journal of Comparative Economics, 2018, 46 (4), 1294-1309.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Employment discrimination in a former Soviet Union Republic: Evidence from a field experiment (2018)
Working Paper: Employment Discrimination in Georgia: Evidence from a Field Experiment (2017)
Working Paper: Employment Discrimination in Georgia: Evidence from a Field Experiment (2017)
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