Hiring Discrimination against Pro-Union Applicants: The Role of Union Density and Firm Size

Stijn Baert and Eddy Omey

No 8516, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the causal impact of revealing pro-unionism during the recruitment stage on hiring chances. To this end, we conduct a randomised field experiment in the Belgian labour market. When matched with employer and sector data, the experimentally gathered data enable us to test the heterogeneity of discrimination against pro-union applicants by the union density in the sector and the size of the firm. We find that disclosure of pro-unionism affects hiring chances in a negative way and that – in line with our expectations based on the literature – this negative impact is stronger in highly unionised sectors.

Keywords: randomised field experiments; trade unions; union density; hiring discrimination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 J53 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2014-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in 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: De Economist , 2015, 163, 263 - 280

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Journal Article: Hiring Discrimination Against Pro-union Applicants: The Role of Union Density and Firm Size (2015)
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