Employment Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States: Evidence from a Field Experiment

57 Pages Posted: 22 May 2019 Last revised: 17 Feb 2023

See all articles by Patrick Button

Patrick Button

Tulane University, Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Brigham Walker

Tulane University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: May 2019

Abstract

We conducted a resume correspondence experiment to measure discrimination in hiring faced by Indigenous Peoples in the United States (Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians). We sent employers realistic 13,516 resumes for common jobs (retail sales, kitchen staff, server, janitor, and security) in 11 cities and compared callback rates. We signaled Indigenous status in one of four different ways. We almost never find any differences in callback rates, regardless of the context. These findings hold after numerous robustness checks, although our checks and discussions raise multiple concerns that are relevant to audit studies generally.

Suggested Citation

Button, Patrick and Walker, Brigham, Employment Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States: Evidence from a Field Experiment (May 2019). NBER Working Paper No. w25849, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3390997

Patrick Button (Contact Author)

Tulane University, Department of Economics ( email )

New Orleans, LA 70118
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.patrickbutton.com

National Bureau of Economic Research ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
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Brigham Walker

Tulane University ( email )

6823 St Charles Ave
New Orleans, LA 70118
United States

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