Discrimination and Workers' Expectations: Experimental Evidence

34 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2003

See all articles by Antonio Filippin

Antonio Filippin

Università degli Studi di Milano; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: July 2003

Abstract

This paper is an experimental analysis of the role played by workers' expectations in explaining the puzzling long-run persistence of observed discrimination against certain minorities in the labor market. The experiment provides some evidence supporting the theoretical prediction that unequal outcomes may emerge due to disadvantaged workers' wrong expectations of being discriminated against. However, this effect is not long-lasting, since players learn the true state of nature in later stages of the experiment, failing to generate a Self-Confirming Equilibrium driven by wrong beliefs. The strategy method provides additional evidence that expectations matter.

Keywords: Experiments, Discrimination, Workers' Expectations

JEL Classification: C92, J71, J15, D84

Suggested Citation

Filippin, Antonio, Discrimination and Workers' Expectations: Experimental Evidence (July 2003). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=434581 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.434581

Antonio Filippin (Contact Author)

Università degli Studi di Milano ( email )

Milan, 20122
Italy

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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