Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle

Gordon Dahl and Matthew Knepper ()

No 27581, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We test whether age discrimination rises during recessions using two complementary analyses. Confidential EEOC microdata reveal that age-related firing and hiring charges rise by 3.3% and 1.6%, respectively, for each percentage point increase in a state-industry’s monthly unemployment. Though the opportunity cost of filing falls, the fraction of meritorious claims increases—a sufficient condition for rising discrimination under plausible assumptions. Second, we repurpose data from hiring correspondence studies conducted across different cities and time periods during the recovery from the Great Recession. Each percentage point increase in local unemployment reduces the callback rate for older versus younger women by 15%.

JEL-codes: J23 J64 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-lma
Note: AG LS PE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published as Gordon B. Dahl & Matthew Knepper, 2023. "Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, vol 15(4), pages 75-112.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle (2023)
Working Paper: Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle (2021)
Working Paper: Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle (2020)
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