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Do anonymous job application procedures level the playing field?

Författare: Oskar Nordström Skans, Och Olof Åslund, Och

Publicerad i: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 2012, vol. 65, no. 1

Sammanfattning av Working paper 2007:31

Anonymous application procedures (AAP) are increasingly promoted as a way to combat employment discrimination. The idea gets support from theory and experimental evidence, but virtually nothing is known about its real-life effects. We present empirical evidence building on micro data collected in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, where AAP was used in parts of the local administration. Difference-in-differences estimates, with extensive controls for qualifications, suggest that AAP increased the chances of advancing to interviews for both women and individuals of non-Western origin. Women also experienced a higher probability of being offered a job, but no such effect is found for immigrants.
Keywords: Anonymous applications, discrimination, employment
JEL-codes: J71, J78

Anonymous application procedures (AAP) are increasingly promoted as a way to combat employment discrimination. The idea gets support from theory and experimental evidence, but virtually nothing is known about its real-life effects. We present empirical evidence building on micro data collected in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, where AAP was used in parts of the local administration. Difference-in-differences estimates, with extensive controls for qualifications, suggest that AAP increased the chances of advancing to interviews for both women and individuals of non-Western origin. Women also experienced a higher probability of being offered a job, but no such effect is found for immigrants.

Keywords: Anonymous applications, discrimination, employment
JEL-codes: J71, J78

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