Thursday, 19 October 2017

The employability of ex-offenders: a field experiment in the Swedish labor market

an article by Ali M. Ahmed and Elisabeth Lång (Linköping University, Sweden) published in IZA Journal of Labor Policy Volume 6 Article 6 (2017)

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a field experiment on hiring discrimination against ex-offenders in the Swedish labor market. Matched pairs of written job applications for fictitious male and female applicants with and without a past conviction of assault were sent to employers for nine different occupations.

Results show that discrimination against ex-offenders exists, but the extent of it varies across occupations. The past conviction of assault was associated with 7–18 percentage point lower probability of receiving a positive employer response.

Discrimination against ex-offenders was pronounced in female-dominated and high-skilled occupations. The magnitude of discrimination against ex-offenders did not vary by applicants’ sex.

JEL Classification: C93, J71, K42

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