Disciplining the strong? Discrimination of service users and the moderating role of PSM and ability to cope

Niels Bjørn Grund Petersen

Public Management Review, 2021, vol. 23, issue 2, 168-188

Abstract: Ethnic stereotypes influence frontline workers’ decision-making, which challenges the legitimacy of public organizations. In this article, we examine how ethnic stereotypes affect caseworkers’ sanctioning behaviour in a context where the client group consists of highly vulnerable clients. Using survey experimental vignettes and qualitative interviews, we find that social caseworkers use ethnic classification in their decision-making. However, contrary to our expectations, caseworkers are less likely to sanction clients with a non-western ethnicity compared to ethnic Danish clients. In addition, the article finds novel evidence indicating that employee traits mitigate the use of ethnic stereotypes.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2019.1668469

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