Anonymous Job Applications in Europe

Global Labor Organization (GLO); UNU-MERIT; Maastricht University, Department of Economics; Free University Berlin; University of Bonn; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Journal of Population Economics

Abstract

Numerous empirical studies find a substantial extent of discrimination in hiring decisions. Anonymous job applications have gained attention and popularity to identify and combat this form of discrimination. To test whether their intended effects result in practice, in several European countries such as Sweden, France and the Netherlands field experiments were recently conducted. Also in Germany, a large field experiment has examined the practicability and potentials of this approach. Against the background of the recent German findings as novel evidence, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this new policy proposal.

Keywords: anonymous job applications, hiring, discrimination

JEL Classification: M51, J71, J78

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Krause-Pilatus, Annabelle and Rinne, Ulf and Zimmermann, Klaus F., Anonymous Job Applications in Europe. IZA Discussion Paper No. 7096, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2196761 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2196761

Annabelle Krause-Pilatus (Contact Author)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

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