Indiscriminate Discrimination: A Correspondence Test for Ethnic Homophily in the Chicago Labor Market

Journal article: Numerous field experiments have demonstrated the existence of discrimination in labor markets against specific minority groups. This paper uses a correspondence test to determine whether this discrimination is due to prejudice against specific groups, or a general preference for the majority group. Three groups of identical fabricated resumes are sent to help-wanted advertisements in Chicago newspapers: one with Anglo-Saxon names, one with African-American names, and one with fictitious foreign names whose ethnic origin is unidentifiable to most Americans. Resumes with Anglo-Saxon names generate nearly one third more call-backs than identical resumes with non Anglo-Saxon ones, either African-American or Foreign. We take this as evidence that discriminatory behavior is part of a larger pattern of unequal treatment of any member of non-majority groups, ethnic homophily.

Author(s)

Nicolas Jacquemet, Constantine Yannelis

Journal
  • Labour Economics
Date of publication
  • 2012
Keywords
  • Correspondence testing
  • Discrimination
  • Ethnic homophily
Pages
  • 824-832
Version
  • 1
Volume
  • 19