First impression biases in the performing arts: taste-based discrimination and the value of blind auditioning

Jasmin Droege ()
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Jasmin Droege: Nuffield College and Department of Economics, University of Oxford

Journal of Cultural Economics, 2022, vol. 46, issue 3, No 1, 437 pages

Abstract: Abstract I develop a game-theoretic framework to study the repercussions of an evaluator’s bias against a specific group of applicants. The evaluator decides upfront between holding an informed or a blind audition. In the latter, the evaluator learns neither the applicant’s ability nor the gender. I show that, above a threshold bias, the evaluator prefers a blind audition to provide high effort incentives exclusively for high-ability applicants. Consequently, committing to no information can be beneficial for the evaluator. I also show that a highly biased evaluator’s preferences align with those of a highly able female. I extend the framework to performance uncertainty and gender-blind CVs and compare blind auditions to affirmative action. The framework is relevant for auditory-based applications: my results can explain why blind auditions have increased the probability of a female orchestra musician being hired via taste-based discrimination and challenge explanations grounded in statistical discrimination.

Keywords: First impression; Bias; Blind audition; Taste-based discrimination; Performance uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C70 D81 D86 D91 J16 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s10824-021-09428-1

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