Sorting through Affirmative Action: Three Field Experiments in Colombia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ibanez, Marcela; Riener, Gerhard
• 署名单位: University of Gottingen; Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/694469
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 437-478
• 关键词: labor-force participation; Child-care; DISCRIMINATION; workers; GENDER; women; BIAS

摘要

The use of affirmative action policies to promote female employment remains debated. Do affirmative action policies attract female applicants, and does that come at the expense of deterring highly qualified male applicants? In three field experiments in Colombia, we compare job seekers who are informed of affirmative action selection criteria before they apply with those who are told after applying. We find that the gains in attracting female applicants far outweigh the losses in male applicants. Moreover, our results indicate that affirmative action does not decrease the quality of the top 15th percentile of the pool of applicants.