Can immigrants counteract employer discrimination? A factorial field experiment reveals the immutability of ethnic hierarchies.

Kåre Vernby,Rafaela Dancygier,Semih Tumen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0218044

Abstract

How pervasive is labor market discrimination against immigrants and what options do policymakers and migrants have to reduce it? To answer these questions, we conducted a field experiment on employer discrimination in Sweden. Going beyond existing work, we test for a large range of applicant characteristics using a factorial design. We examine whether migrants can affect their employment chances—by adopting citizenship, acquiring work experience, or signaling religious practice—or whether fixed traits such as country of birth or gender are more consequential. We find little systematic evidence that immigrants can do much to reduce discrimination. Rather, ethnic hierarchies are critical: callback rates decline precipitously with the degree of ethno-cultural distance, leaving Iraqis and Somalis, especially if they are male, with much reduced employment chances. These findings highlight that immigrants have few tools at their disposal to escape ethnic penalties and that efforts to reduce discrimination must address employer prejudice.

Highlights

The economic integration of immigrants is one of the most pressing policy issues facing Europe today
We examine whether migrants can affect their employment chances—by adopting citizenship, acquiring work experience, or signaling religious practice—or whether fixed traits such as country of birth or gender are more consequential
A growing literature has begun to investigate barriers to immigrants’ economic success, with one strand focusing on the hurdles that migrants encounter during the hiring process

Summary

Introduction

The economic integration of immigrants is one of the most pressing policy issues facing Europe today. Though many Western European countries have experienced large-scale migration for decades, their records of integrating migrants into domestic labor markets remain patchy. This research has consistently found that job applicants with immigrant origins are less likely to be invited to interviews than are natives [2]. Given that discrimination is pervasive, what options do policymakers and migrants have at their disposal to escape ethnic penalties? Existing research has demonstrated that foreign origin presents an obstacle in the recruitment process, but it has less frequently considered whether foreign origin is a proxy for other factors that migrants and policy can influence.

Methods

Results

Conclusion