UiS School of Business and Law Seminar: Explicit Gender Discrimination

Abstract:
We reconsider discrimination preferences through moral lenses and conduct experiments to systematically investigate these preferences using a quota-based representative UK sam-ple. Moving beyond aggregate discrimination, we specifically evaluate the frequency of individual preferences for and against taste and statistical discrimination based on gender. We document that most individuals prefer to engage in at least one type of discrimination, that there is substantial heterogeneity in preferences, and that the existence of multiple preferences changes our understanding of why individuals discriminate. Among others, we examine variations across socio-economic lines and links to industry-level wage gaps, politics, and policies, and we study effects of wage transparency.