Ethnic discrimination and racism across Europe: experimental evidence on targets and mechanisms

Ethnic discrimination and racism across Europe: experimental evidence on targets and mechanisms

Entrance will be allowed up to the maximum capacity of the room

Speakers:

  • Ruta Yemane, Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations und Migrationsforschung, DeZIM e.V. and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Berlin - visiting student at Scuola Normale Superiore
  • Valentina Di Stasio, Utrecht University and Visiting Fellow at Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute

Discussants:

  • Daniela Bellani, Scuola Normale Superiore
  • Nicola Quondamatteo, Scuola Normale Superiore
  • Beniamino Peruzzi Castellani, Scuola Normale Superiore

Chair:

  • Guglielmo Meardi, Scuola Normale Superiore

Abstract
Hundreds of millions of people perceive to be victims of discrimination in the world of work. Empirical evidence from numerous experimental studies confirm these perceptions are well-founded: ethnic discrimination in European labour markets is persistent and pervasive.
However, since in most of these studies ethnic background was the only variable that was manipulated, it is difficult to disentangle whether it is the applicant’s ethnic background, the phenotype, the religious affiliation, the gender, or a combination of all these factors that drives hiring discrimination. In this talk, we seek to address some of these open questions and advance our understanding of two key issues. First, we isolate the role of ethnicity from that of religion and non-white phenotype in discrimination outcomes. And second, we examine the extent to which these differences can be explained by gendered ethnic group stereotypes. To answer these questions, we use primary data from a harmonized field experiment on hiring discrimination conducted in six strategically selected destination countries: Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, and the U.S. as well as survey experiments in Germany and the Netherlands.