Panel Paper:
Race, Religion, and Immigration: Experimental Evidence from the Labor Market
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Both African American and Somali American Minnesotans experience worse labor market outcomes than white Minnesotans, including higher unemployment and lower household income (Minnesota State Demographic Center 2016). These differences persist after controlling for numerous demographic characteristics (authors’ calculations from IPUMS ACS). However, the mechanisms driving the difference in labor market outcomes are likely different between African American and Somali American Minnesotans. We examine how employers respond to resumes that vary on race and ethnicity (African American, Caucasian, and Somali American) as well as sex, religion, time in U.S., education, quality of work experience, language skills, and birthplace. With this approach, we are able to examine what elements employers respond to on a resume and if these vary by race and ethnicity. This research will allow policy makers to target the specific barriers that face these two groups of vulnerable Minnesotans.
Data collection is on-going. We expect preliminary results for APPAM.
Background
Labor economists often conceptualize race as a static attribute, whereas work in the economics of identity (and a long history of work in sociology and psychology) suggests that race is an identity that can be intentionally manipulated (Akerlof and Kranton 2000). As African immigrants navigate American racial structures, some ethnic groups have attempted to create a distinct identity from African Americans, because they recognize that native-born blacks are relegated to the lowest rung of the American racial hierarchy (Guenther, Pendaz, and Makene 2011; Kapteijns and Arman 2008; also, see Ajrouch and Kusow 2007 for a similar discussion of Somali immigrants in Canada). While there is substantial qualitative research on racial identity among first and second generation immigrants from Africa, it is important to know how employers respond to these distinct identities.
Moreover, Somali American Minnesotans have very different educational profiles and language abilities than the pre-existing African American community (Minnesota State Demographic Center 2016). Employers engaging in statistical discrimination would react very differently to an application from members of these two groups. Additionally, qualitative research shows that Somali Americans emphasize their religion as part of creating a distinct identity, which may cause employers to engage in religious discrimination (Guenther, Pendaz, and Makene 2011; Kapteijns and Arman 2008; Ajrouch and Kusow 2007).
In order to disentangle the overlapping processes that adversely affect the labor market outcomes of African American and Somali American Minnesotans, we implement a resume audit study. We examine how employers respond to resumes that vary on race and ethnicity as well as sex, religion, time in U.S., education, quality of work experience, language skills, and birthplace. Minnesota has a large Somali American community that first arrived in the 1990’s. This provides a unique setting where our experimental manipulations will be realistic (e.g., Minnesota simultaneously has 22 year olds who are first, 1.5, and 2nd generation Somali Americans). Moreover, Somali Americans have established an identity distinct from the pre-existing African American community in Minnesota, providing an opportunity to see if employers respond to this social distancing (Guenther, Pendaz, and Makene 2011; Kapteijns and Arman 2008).
Full Paper:
