Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22545
Appears in Collections:Management, Work and Organisation Working Papers
Peer Review Status: Unrefereed
Title: Employer Recruitment Preferences and Discrimination: A Stated Preference Experiment
Author(s): McQuaid, Ronald
Bergmann, Ariel
Contact Email: ronald.mcquaid@STIR.AC.UK
Citation: McQuaid R & Bergmann A (2008) Employer Recruitment Preferences and Discrimination: A Stated Preference Experiment. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/30801/1/MPRA_paper_30801.pdf
Keywords: Employer Preferences
Recruitment
Stated Preference Methods
Labour Markets
JEL Code(s): J16: Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
J70: Labor Discrimination: General
J71: Labor Discrimination
D30: Distribution: General
A14: Sociology of Economics
Issue Date: 31-May-2011
Date Deposited: 25-Nov-2015
Publisher: Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University
Abstract: This paper presents a novel approach of applying stated preference methods in the field of labour economics. Differences in behaviour and labour market disadvantage are connected to the presence, and ages of children, the so-called ‘family gap’. There are major difficulties in collecting accurate information about the recruiting practices of employers and identifying their preferences towards different characteristics of new recruits. Employer answers to direct questions may not illicit reliable answers due to them having unconscious biases, confounding various potential employee characteristics, social or legal pressures on not appearing to be biased against certain types of potential employees or them practicing discrimination. This paper applies stated preference methods to identifying employer preferences to three sets of characteristics of potential recruits: age, gender and presence and age of their youngest child. This method is tested using face-to-face interviews with 52 firms. The results indicate that there are strong employer preferences against those: having childcare responsibilities for children aged under 5; and being over 50 years old. Employer preferences favour: those between the ages of 25 and 39; those with no childcare responsibilities; and women. This suggests that the influences of age, gender and children are crucial factor when discussing gender and labour demand.
Type: Working Paper
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22545
URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/30801/1/MPRA_paper_30801.pdf
Rights: Author retains copyright. Proper attribution of authorship and correct citation details should be given.
Affiliation: Management, Work and Organisation
Edinburgh Napier University

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