Department/School
Economics
Date
2021
Document Type
Article
Keywords
discrimination, race/ethnicity, immigration, resume audit, election
DOI
DOI: 10.1007/s00148-021-00837-2
Abstract
We examine whether employment discrimination increased after the 2016 presidential election in the United States. We submitted fictitious applications to publicly advertised positions using resumes that are manipulated on perceived race and ethnicity (Somali American, African American, and white American). Prior to the 2016 election, employers contacted Somali American applicants slightly less than white applicants but more than African American applicants. After the election, the difference between white and Somali American applicants increased by 8 percentage points. The increased discrimination predominantly occurred in occupations involving interaction with customers. We continued data collection from July 2017 to March 2018 to test for seasonality in discrimination; there was no substantial increase in discrimination after the 2017 local election.
Published in
Journal of Population Economics
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Citation/Other Information
Gorzig, M.M. and Rho, D. (2021). The Effect of the 2016 United States Presidential Election on Employment Discrimination. Journal of Population Economics, 35(1), 45-88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-021-00837-2