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When the Name Matters

An Experimental Investigation of Ethnic Discrimination in the Finnish Labor Market

Bibliographic Data

ID2291888
AuthorsAkhlaq Ahmad (0000-0001-6785-843X, University of Helsinki, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume90
Issue3
Pages468-496
Publication date2020-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0245 • E-ISSN: 1475-682X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/soin.12276
OpenAlexW2923978211
LanguageEN
Citations received50
References cited23

This article considers the possibilities and limits of human-capital credentials in entering the labor market for immigrants in Finland. It reports findings of a correspondence study on how employers respond to job applicants of five different backgrounds who were otherwise equivalently matched on various demographic and human-capital characteristics. The findings strongly indicate the continuing salience of ethnicity in securing employment opportunities in the Finnish labor market. Employers significantly prefer Finnish applicants over ethnic candidates, and within ethnic applicants, they prefer candidates with a European name over a non-European name. They further show that locally acquired human capital provides a better payoff only when the job candidate belongs to a group that is placed higher on the ethnic preference ladder. Drawing on the empirical observations, the article thus suggests that a recruitment process driven by abstract or impersonal criteria and governed by mere considerations of human capital in real-life situations is much less prevalent than often claimed

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Ethnic discrimination · Ethnic group · Human capital · Immigration · Labour economics · Microeconomics · Political science · Preference · Salience (neuroscience · Sociology · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research · Psychology

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Unique citing works50
Citations per year8,33
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 50
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