Labor Market Discrimination Research Articles

How accurately are household surveys measuring the LGBT population in Colombia? Evidence from a list experiment

This paper studies whether household surveys precisely identify the LGBT population and are suitable to measure labor market discrimination in Colombia. We first quantify the size of the LGBT population and estimate labor market inequalities from these data, highlighting potential pitfalls from using this approach. We then present findings from a list experiment in the capital city of Bogotá. Results show that household surveys underestimate the size of the LGBT population and may yield biased estimates of labor market inequalities. While survey estimates range between 1 and 4 %, we find that LGBT individuals represent around 12–22 % of the total population. We find heterogeneous reporting by sex at birth, age groups, educational attainment, and marital status. Our findings suggest that while current measurement practices are a step forward for LGBTQ+ visibility, further steps are required before household surveys may be used to consistently estimate discrimination and guide policy responses to protect their welfare.

Повышение эффективности приложения профессиональных компетенций специалистов старших возрастных групп в условиях перехода к Индустрии 4.0

The article is devoted to discussing the issues of improving the efficiency of using senior age group specialists’ competencies in the conditions of innovative economic development while transiting to Industry 4.0.
 The paper analyses the causes of senior age group workers’ vulnerability conditions associated with the subjective characteristics of their age group and leading to various manifestations of age discrimination in the open labour market. One of the main causes for such vulnerability is a deliberately underestimated assessment of their own competencies, which forces senior age group specialists to accept job invitations that do not correspond to their qualifications. The reasons for the systematic underestimation of their self-esteem are the constant feeling of external pressure from younger colleagues and management, as well as the inability to conduct an independent objective assessment of their own position in the labour market.
 Based on analysing foreign experience of successful integration of senior age group specialists’ competencies into the innovative economy, the paper states the proposals for forming a comprehensive solution to such a problem, taking into account the domestic labour market realities. At the same time, one of the necessary areas of work is creating information solutions that allow specialists to correctly assess their position in the labour market, one of which, built by the authors and based on the precedent analysis, is described in sufficient detail in the work.

A Decomposition of Economic Vulnerability Among Indigenous and Non‐Indigenous Adults in Canada

Using the 2004–2007 and 2008–2011 panels of the Canadian Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, we examine earnings and employment disparities between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous adults. While an income gap exists and tends not to significantly change over time, taxes and transfers reduce it by almost 40 percent. Further, the gap is generally largest at the bottom of the income distribution. The explained component of the gap is primarily due to differences in education, particularly for young workers, and although the unexplained portion decreases over time, this is due to increased differences in observed labor market characteristics, implying that labor market discrimination may be on the rise. In addition, the probability of joblessness is higher for Indigenous adults and the male gap has increased. Results are robust to a bounding technique that adjusts for labor force participation differences and tend to be driven by First Nations (as opposed to Métis) adults.

Do workers discriminate against their out-group employers? Evidence from an online platform economy

We study possible labor market discrimination by workers towards their out-group employers as manifested via social preferences (altruism and reciprocity). We run a well-powered, model-based, lab-in-the-field experiment, recruiting 6,000 white American worker subjects from Amazon's M-Turk platform for a real-effort task. We also hire trainer subjects, our stand-in for employers, from a university. To worker subjects, we randomly (and unobtrusively) reveal the racial identity of the trainers, who may be white or black. We find evidence that white workers may discriminate against white employers based on altruism (working harder due to concern for the employer's well-being). However, they may discriminate in favor of their white employers based on reciprocity (working harder because of a small gift). From the perspective of black (white) employers, altruism evokes a stronger (weaker) effort response, but gift-giving has no (positive) effect. Taken together, the combined effect of altruism and reciprocity on worker effort is the same for black and white employers.

Girls' schooling is important but insufficient to promote equality for boys and girls in childhood and across the life course

AbstractMotivationInvesting in girls' schooling in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is seen as central to improving gender equity. It is argued that interventions to promote girls' enrolment are appropriate as girls face gendered barriers to school enrolment and completion and investing in girls' schooling has high economic and human development returns. But is this fair to boys and enough for girls?PurposeWe ask how appropriate it is to direct development assistance towards improving girls' school enrolment, compared to prioritizing schooling for both girls and boys, and addressing barriers to gender equality throughout the life course.Methods and approachWe frame the enquiry through a human development framework with three distinct but interdependent domains: protection of human development potential; realization of human development potential; and use of human development potential.Using publicly available data, we identify indicators that are likely to be correlated with the degree to which human development potential is protected, realized, and utilized in LMICs. We compare male and female outcomes on each of these indicators to assess gender parity at different life stages.FindingsIn most regions, girls are ahead of boys in both school enrolment and completion. Girls have better outcomes than boys in several other indicators in early life and childhood.In adolescence and adulthood, girls and women fall behind boys and men. This is especially apparent in workforce participation, in unemployment, in pay, and in share of unpaid care work and political participation, where women have less favourable outcomes than men. The bias against women is most marked in South Asia and sub‐Saharan Africa.Policy implicationsA focus on girls' schooling should be tempered by ensuring quality pre‐primary, primary, and secondary schooling for both boys and girls. At the same time, we must address causes of gender inequality, including labour market discrimination and social norms that justify the exclusion and exploitation of women and girls.

Labor Market Discrimination and the Racial Unemployment Gap: Can Monetary Policy Make a Difference?

Black workers experience a higher unemployment rate, as well as more volatile employment dynamics, than white workers, and the racial unemployment rate gap is largely unexplained by observable characteristics. We develop a New Keynesian model with search and matching frictions in the labor market, endogenous separations, and employer discrimination against Black workers to explain these outcomes. The model is consistent with key features of the aggregate economy and is able to explain key labor market disparities across racial groups. We then use this model to assess the effects of the Federal Reserve’s new monetary policy framework---interest rates respond to shortfalls of employment from its maximum level rather than deviations---on racial inequality in the labor market. We find that shifting from a Deviations interest rate rule to a Shortfalls rule reduces the racial unemployment rate gap and the model-based measures of labor market discrimination but increases the average inflation rate. From a welfare perspective, we find that the Shortfalls approach does not do much to reduce racial inequality in our model economy.

Physical Disability and Labor Market Discrimination: Evidence from a Video Résumé Field Experiment

We sent fictitious applications to firms advertising job openings. We find that revealing a disability decreases callback rates by 25 percentage points. This result is not explained by accessibility constraints or lower productivity due to disability. We find that including a video résumé of a well-spoken applicant significantly increases callbacks by 10 percentage points for persons with and without disabilities, suggesting that discrimination is unaffected by quality signals in our context. Analysis of viewing activity suggests that employers seek less information when the applicant is disabled. Disclosing the disability later in the video increases employers' viewing time but leaves callback rates unchanged. (JEL C93, J14, J23, J24, J71, K31, M51)

Gendered ethnic discrimination and the role of recruiter gender. A field experiment

Relying on data from a large-scale field experiment in Sweden, this article studies discrimination in recruitment on the basis of gender and ethnicity combined with recruiter gender. The study includes 5641 job applications sent in response to advertised vacancies, and the employer callbacks to these. Gender and either a Swedish or a foreign-sounding name were randomly assigned to the applications, and recruiter gender was documented whenever available. Based on the callback rates, there is evidence of ethnic discrimination against foreign-named job applicants by both male and female recruiters. Also, male applicants with foreign-sounding names are discriminated more than female applicants with foreign-sounding names. Thus, the results show gendered ethnic discrimination in the Swedish labor market, and this does not appear to depend on recruiter gender in general. However, the patterns for gendered ethnic discrimination by recruiter gender vary across occupational categories.

Accidental flexicurity or workfare? Navigating ride-share work and Australia’s welfare system

This mixed-methods study explores the intersection of the ‘gig’ economy and welfare state in Australia, exploring how ride-share work has provided a pathway into paid work for three traditionally disadvantaged groups: individuals with disability, with caring responsibilities, or aged 45 and over. It examines these workers’ motivations for the work and explores how the welfare system shapes their experiences. The study finds push factors, such as past labour market discrimination and limited alternatives, and pull factors, like the relative flexibility of the work, which allows for the accommodation of planned and unplanned absences, are driving individuals into the ‘gig’ economy. The authors identify a duality about these experiences. On the one hand, the work represents a de facto form of ‘workfare’. On the other, the welfare system is cushioning the work’s job and income insecurity, providing individuals with flexibility and security unavailable elsewhere, an unintended policy outcome the authors label ‘accidental flexicurity’.

Inequalities in access to paid sick leave among workers in England and Wales.

It is poorly understood which workers lack access to sick pay in England and Wales. This evidence gap has been of particular interest in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic given the relationship between presenteeism and infectious disease transmission. This cross-sectional analysis (n=8874) was nested within a large community cohort study based across England and Wales (Virus Watch). An online survey in February 2021 asked participants in work if they had access to paid sick leave. We used logistic regression to examine sociodemographic factors associated with lacking access to sick pay. Only 66% (n=5864) of participants reported access to sick pay. South Asian workers (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.83) and those from Other minority ethnic backgrounds (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.54-5.59) were more likely to lack access to sick pay compared to White British workers. Older workers (OR range 1.72 [1.53-1.93]-5.26 [4.42-6.26]), workers in low-income households (OR 2.53, 95% CI 2.15-2.98) and those in transport, trade, and service occupations (OR range 2.03 [1.58-2.61]-5.29 [3.67-7.72]) were also more likely to lack access to sick pay compared respectively to workers aged 25-44, those in high income households and managerial occupations. Unwarranted age and ethnic inequalities in sick pay access are suggestive of labour market discrimination. Occupational differences are also cause for concern. Policymakers should consider expanding access to sick pay to mitigate transmission of Covid-19 and other endemic respiratory infections in the community, and in the context of pandemic preparation.

Feminists’ Irony: The Labor-Market Discrimination against Women Activists in Feminist Movements

Feminists’ Irony: The Labor-Market Discrimination against Women Activists in Feminist Movements

Uncovering the roots of obesity-based wage discrimination: The role of job characteristics

This paper investigates the roots of potential labor-market discrimination underlying the negative correlation between obesity and hourly wages. Using a panel dataset of white individuals drawn from the U.S. 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), we test whether residual wage gaps could be attributed to prejudice (taste-based discrimination) and/or statistical discrimination. To this end, we examine how these two types of discrimination hinge on a wide range of obese individuals’ specific job and occupational characteristics (drawn from the O*Net Online database). In particular, our analysis sheds light on whether discrimination originates from clients’ attitudes, fellow workers or employers. Our findings are consistent with taste-based discrimination against obese females, especially as they become older, in jobs requiring frequent communication with either clients or employers. However, the evidence on this issue is weaker for males. We conjecture that these differences may originate from both an over-representation of males among employers and different image concerns against people of the same gender.

Integrating gender into a labour economics class

This article argues that a systematic integration of gender into labour economics courses based on standard textbooks is both beneficial and straightforward. An undergraduate course in labour economics presents an ideal opportunity to introduce students to the importance of gender differences in economic outcomes. We provide a prototype of such a course, and we show how gender-aware content and pedagogical tools can complement a course based on a standard textbook or set of articles. We also review the most popular textbooks in labour economics and show how gender issues are mostly contained in a single chapter on labour market discrimination rather than thoroughly integrated throughout the text. In addition to exposing students to more diverse content and methodologies, mainstreaming gender into an undergraduate labour economics class can help cultivate inclusivity and belongingness in the discipline.

Is psychologically vulnerable rural-to-urban migrants' mental health further at stake under China's tightened COVID-19 measures: how should the government respond?

There is a well-documented scholarly discourse on how the COVID-19 outbreak adversely affects the mental health of Chinese nationals. However, there is little evidence revealing how the public health crisis negatively influenced the mental health of rural-to-urban migrants in China. The relevant literature argues that rural-to-urban migrant workers and their dependents have been experiencing discrimination, exclusion, and stigmatization in the urban labor market and social space, thereby jeopardizing their mental health to a large extent. However, whether the COVID-19 outbreak and its associated consequences further compounded rural-to-urban migrant workers' mental health has rarely been discussed. Since 2010, the Chinese government has emphasized the importance of promoting positive mental health. Without identifying how COVID-19 specifically imposed mental health challenges on rural-to-urban migrant cohorts, Chinese policymakers cannot effectively and efficiently address the dilemmas faced by such vulnerable groups. The significant rural-to-urban migrant population (i.e. 291 million), alongside their disposition to encounter social and psychological challenges, prompts the urgency to develop this narrative essay to examine whether their mental health burdens worsened during the pandemic. The author also discusses remedies for the worsened mental issues faced by migrant cohorts, and recommends policies that local Chinese governments should adopt to mitigate the mental health burdens encountered by rural-to-urban migrants.

Age-Related Differences in Job Search Behavior: Do Older Jobseekers Need a Larger Social Network?

Abstract Increasing the employment rate of individuals aged 55+ is a key challenge in many OECD countries. While labor market discrimination and policy measures have been put forward as possible explanations, the role of job search remains largely unexplored. Yet, it determines to a large extent the match between supply and demand on the labor market. In this paper, we examine age-related differences in job search behavior. As skills have often become outdated for older workers, but job mobility may enhance their employment, we analyze search behavior for the unemployed as well as the employed adopting multiple parameters: job search intensity, use of the public employment agency, and social networking. The results indicate that jobseekers of different age employ different search methods, and that this relationship should be analyzed within the employment context of the jobseeker.

Economic Analysis of Gender Discrimination in Labor Market Experienced by Women in China

In China's work sector, gender discrimination has been a severe problem for a very long time. Women's development in the marketplace is hindered by a variety of obstacles, including legislation, the implementation of a market economy, and conventional beliefs. These obstacles limit women's advancement in a variety of professions and even have an impact on the overall economic growth of the country. The author makes use of Becker's theory of discrimination to analyze the problem of the circumstance of employment difficulties encountered by female workers and is of the opinion that the severity of gender discrimination in the labor market in China is because of the conventional concepts and natural attachment costs of women. As a natural consequence of this, businesses will naturally avoid hiring female employees, even though doing so may cause them to forego some of their earnings. Based on the analysis, several suggestions could be given to better the circumstance of employment of women in China. First, policies could be enacted to protect both the employers’ and female workers’ interests. Second, fertility costs should be socialized. Finally, women should improve their inhere quality. Gender discrimination in the labor market in China could be therefore improved.

Jumping to male-dominated occupations: A novel way to reduce the gender wage gap for Chinese women

Occupational segregation is widely considered as one major reason leading to the gender discrimination in labor market. Using large-scale Chinese re-sume data of online job seekers, we uncover an interesting phenomenon that occupations with higher proportion of men have smaller gender wage gap measured by the female-male ratio on wage. We further show that the sever-ity of occupational segregation in China is low both overall and regionally, and the inter-occupational discrimination is much smaller than the intra-occupational discrimination. That is to say, Chinese women do not face large barriers when changing their occupations. Accordingly, we suggest Chinese women a new way to narrow the gender wage gap: to join male-dominated occupations. Meanwhile, it is worth noticing that although the gender wage gap is smaller in male-dominated occupations, it does not mean that the gender discrimination is smaller there.

한국 가계빈곤의 결정요인 분석

Purpose: As household characteristics are differently associated with poverty within population sub-groups, the present study examines the determinants of household poverty by gender and age of a household heads in Korea.
 Research design, data, and methodology: The present study examines the association between a vector of household demograpic and socioeconomic characteristics and poverty. Specifically, sample household survey is decomposed into male and female headed households, and elderly and non-elderly headed households to assess how attributes to poverty vary depending on population sub-goups. For empirical analysis, this study draws upon the recent national representative household data, survey of household finance and living conditions (SFLC) 2021 collected by Korea Statistical Office.
 Results: Three findings are highlighted; (1) household head’s age is prone to poverty for the non-elderly male-headed households but not for the non-elderly female headed households, partly reflecting relative weakness in earning power of female in labour market.; (2) the type of Job occupation of a household head has different effects on the elderly male and the elderly female households; (3) a hump-shape relationship between a household head’s age and poverty, partly capturing the life-cycle income hypothesis, is only observed from the non-elderly households whilst the relationship was linear for the elderly household. Finally we found that education played a role for the elderly household from anti-poverty perspective but not for the non-elderly household.
 Implications: Some findings suggests policy implication related to poverty relief. For example, the different age effect of poverty between the non-elderly male and the non-elderly female headed households for partly implies the weakness of earning power in income generating activities and suggests a government anti-poverty intervention should be taken into account wage differential stemming from gender discrimination in labour market.

Role of Commuting Time on Explaining Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia

Purpose This research aims to identify the role of commuting time on explaining gender wage gap in Indonesia Design/methodology/approach Using dataset from National Labor Survey (Sakernas) 2019, this research estimated 33.6% wage gap between men and women. Findings The inclusion of commuting characteristics showed an increase of explained gender wage gap proportion from 14.2% to 22.6%. The commuting time variable contributes to 14.6% of the explained wage gap. Research limitations/implications From the results it can be identified that the increase of women’s commuting time has the potential to reduce gender wage gap in Indonesia. Originality/value Gender wage gap is a labor market discrimination issue that persists worldwide, including Indonesia. Previous researches pointed out that the gender wage gap in Indonesia is mainly composed of parts unexplained by demographic, human capital, and job characteristics. While the commuting characteristics have the potential to explain more of the gender wage gap, it is still underexplored in Indonesia.

Labor Market Discrimination against Family Responsibilities: A Correspondence Study with Policy Change in China

China shifted its controversial one-child policy (1979–2015) to a two-child policy in 2016. We take advantage of this unexpected policy change and the heterogeneities in the prechange environment to investigate labor market discrimination against expected family responsibilities. In a two-wave correspondence study before and after the policy change, we sent 8,848 fictitious resumes with ages 22–29 in response to online job advertisements. Their gender and only-child/siblinged status were systematically varied. We find that women—but not men—are subject to labor market discrimination for expected family responsibilities. This discrimination worsens with the increase in women’s reproductive age.