Are Some Citizens More Equal than Others? Evidence from a Field Experiment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Grohs, Stephan; Adam, Christian; Knill, Christoph
• 署名单位: University of Munich; University of Munich
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3352
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.12439
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 155-164
• 关键词: discrimination; EMPLOYMENT; state

摘要

The equal treatment of all citizens is one of the fundamental principles of good administrative practice. Nevertheless, there are growing numbers of media and scientific reports on unequal treatment by public administrations. This article examines the unequal treatment of citizens by gender and ethnic origin by means of a survey-based field experiment in German local government. With the help of two vignettes and randomized assignment of names, responses to fake citizen requests by local governments are analyzed for speed, quality, and service orientation. The results show very limited discrimination effects. While there is no evidence for general ethnic discrimination, a more differentiated analysis indicates patterns of ethnic discrimination conditioned by gender.