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on Minorities Research (Ethnic, LGBTQ+, Disabilities) |
| By: | Louis-Pierre Lepage; Heather Sarsons; Michael Thaler |
| Abstract: | There is widespread opposition to affirmative action policies. We study whether personal disappointments shape preferences for such policies. Specifically, we test whether individuals' college admissions outcomes, relative to their expectations, influence their attitudes toward affirmative action policies. Using a retrospective survey among recent White and Asian college applicants, we find that disappointed individuals-those who were admitted to fewer schools than anticipated-are relatively more likely to believe that affirmative action played an important role in their admissions outcomes, have the lowest support for affirmative action policies, and are more willing to donate to an anti-affirmative action organization. They also hold more negative views about the academic qualifications of under-represented minorities. To isolate the causal effect of "bad news" from selection, we conduct a complementary survey experiment with parents of future college applicants. We randomize whether parents receive information about their child's admissions prospects. Providing bad news to overconfident parents causes them to increase opposition to affirmative action and donate to an anti-affirmative action organization. Results suggest that some individuals attribute bad news to external factors, specifically policies that benefit out-groups. |
| Keywords: | Affirmative action, college admissions, disappointment, belief updating, policy preferences |
| JEL: | D83 D91 I23 J15 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26109 |
| By: | Virginia Minni; Kieu-Trang Nguyen; Heather Sarsons; Carla Srebot |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how managers' gender attitudes shape workplace culture and gender inequality. Using data from a multinational firm operating in over 100 countries, we leverage cross-country manager rotations to identify the effects of male managers' gender attitudes on gender pay gaps within a team. Managers from countries with one standard deviation more progressive gender attitudes reduce the pay gap by 5 percentage points (18%), largely through higher promotion rates for women. These effects persist after managers rotate out and are strongest in more conservative countries. Managers with progressive attitudes also influence the local office culture, as local managers who interact with but are not under the purview of the foreign manager begin to have smaller pay gaps in their teams. Our evidence points to individual managers as critical in shaping corporate culture. |
| Keywords: | managers, gender gaps, corporate culture, multinationals |
| JEL: | J16 J24 F23 M14 M5 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26040 |
| By: | Sonia Bhalotra; Damian Clarke; Atheendar Venkataramani |
| Abstract: | We leverage the introduction of the first antibiotic therapies in 1937 to examine the long run effects of early childhood pneumonia on adult educational attainment, employment, income, and work-related disability. Using census data, we document large average gains on all outcomes, alongside substantial heterogeneity by race and gender. On average, Black men exhibit smaller schooling gains than white men but larger employment and earnings gains. Among Black men (and women), we identify a pronounced gradient in gains linked to systemic racial discrimination in the pre-Civil Rights era: individuals born in more discriminatory Jim Crow states realized much smaller gains than those born in less discriminatory states. There is no similar gradient among white Americans. Women of both races exhibit smaller education and earnings gains than men on average, consistent with cultural and institutional barriers to women's work. Our findings highlight the role of opportunities in shaping the extent to which investments in early-life health translate into longer run economic gains. |
| Keywords: | Early childhood, medical innovation, race, human capital production, education, income, disability, systemic discrimination, institutions, infectious disease, pneumonia, antibiotics, sulfa drugs |
| JEL: | I10 I14 J71 H70 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26012 |
| By: | Pedro C. Sant'Anna; Sulin Sardoschau; Aiko Schmeisser |
| Abstract: | Empirical studies of racial wage disparities typically rely on self-reported race and treat racial categories as fixed. This paper shows that racial classification in the labor market is produced by social perception, and that modeling this perception process is essential for measuring wage gaps. We combine two large-scale administrative data sets to construct three racial identity measures for 330, 000 workers in Brazil between 2003 and 2015: employer classification, self-identification, and an algorithmic skin-tone measure extracted from photographs. In over 20 percent of cases, self-identified and employer-ascribed race do not match, and employers disagree in their classification of the same worker. To quantify how race is constructed, we estimate a "race function" describing how employers map phenotypic cues, self-identification, local context, education, and employment histories into racial categories, showing that productivity-relevant factors shape perceptions. Holding skin tone constant, university graduates are 10 percentage points more likely to be perceived as White. Education whitens even conditional on self-declared race and within firm-by-occupation cells. Measured wage disparities differ depending on whether race is self-reported, employer-ascribed, or skin-tone based, and accounting for racial perceptions substantially changes estimated wage gaps. We show that conventional approaches overstate the role of productivity differences in explaining racial wage gaps. |
| Keywords: | Race, identity, disparity, wage gap, Brazil |
| JEL: | J15 J50 J71 Z10 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26074 |
| By: | Patrick Bayer; Kerwin Charles; Ellora Derenoncourt |
| Abstract: | In this chapter, we introduce a new framework for studying the evolution of racial inequality in the labor market. The framework encompasses two broad forces - distributional and positional - that affect labor market gaps by racial and ethnic identity over time. We provide long-run results on the evolution of Black-White earnings gaps, including new results for Black and White women, and we review the evidence on historical factors affecting racial gaps. We then provide new results on racial gaps among other groups in the U.S. and discuss the evidence on racial gaps outside the U.S. We then discuss the role of prejudice-based discrimination in driving racial gaps, particularly in the post-civil-rights era, a period when such discrimination has been thought to play a declining role in racial inequality. We describe forces that can amplify existing discrimination, such as monopsony and workers' perceptions of prejudice in the economy, and we discuss recent literature directly measuring discrimination through expanded audit studies and quasi-experimental variation. We conclude with a discussion of existing and new frontiers on race in the labor market, including stratification, reformulations of prejudice, and understanding the way race has shaped purportedly race-neutral institutions throughout the economy. |
| Keywords: | Race, labor markets, inequality |
| JEL: | J15 J31 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:25106 |
| By: | Qian, Yuting (Yale University); Gettel, Cameron (Yale University); Su, Jasmine (New York University); Grogan, Elyssa (New York University); Cohen, Inessa (Yale University); Rothenberg, Craig (Yale University); Chen, Xi (Yale University); Hwang, Ula (New York University and James J. Peters VA Medical Center) |
| Abstract: | Geriatric Emergency Departments (GEDs) -- accredited units that integrate geriatric-trained staff, age-friendly protocols, and post-visit care coordination -- have expanded rapidly across the United States. This paper provides the first nationally representative estimates of GED effects on hospitalization and mortality among Medicare beneficiaries. Linking data from the Health and Retirement Study to Medicare claims, we find that older adults treated at a GED were 9.7 percentage points less likely to be hospitalized and 6.1 percentage points less likely to die within 30 days, compared to those treated at a non-GED emergency department. Placebo tests and sensitivity analyses support causal interpretation. However, treatment effect heterogeneity analysis reveals that gains are concentrated among non-Hispanic white patients and adults under age 80; Black and Hispanic older adults exhibit no statistically significant benefit, consistent with persistent disparities in post-discharge care access and social support. These findings suggest that GED accreditation improves downstream health outcomes at scale, but that structural inequities outside the emergency department attenuate benefits for minority patients. |
| Keywords: | geriatric emergency department, Medicare, hospitalization, 30-day mortality, racial disparities, health and retirement study, accreditation, aging |
| JEL: | I11 I14 I18 J14 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18556 |
| By: | Alan Benson; Louis-Pierre Lepage |
| Abstract: | Using administrative records from a large national US retailer, we find that managers learn to discriminate "on the job" as they hire workers of different races. We find that idiosyncratic negative and positive experiences of managers influence the race of their future hires. Early negative experiences hiring black workers yield particularly substantial and persistent declines in the manager's subsequent black hiring. Our results highlight that individual labor market experiences of employers with minority workers systematically give rise to hiring discrimination, consistent with past experiences dynamically shaping employer perceptions of worker groups. |
| Keywords: | Labor market discrimination; managers; experience effects; racial inequality |
| JEL: | J71 M50 D83 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:25116 |
| By: | Bloom, Nicholas (Stanford University); Dahl, Gordon (University of California, San Diego); Rooth, Dan-Olof (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | There has been a dramatic rise in disability employment since the pandemic. At the same time, work from home (WFH) has risen four-fold. This paper asks whether the two are causally related. Controlling for compositional changes and labor market tightness, a 1 percentage point increase in WFH increases full-time employment by 1.0% for individuals with a physical disability. The postpandemic increase in working from home explains 68%-85% of the rise in full-time employment. Wage data suggests that WFH increased the supply of workers with a physical disability, likely by reducing commuting costs and enabling better control of working conditions. |
| Keywords: | work from home, disability employment |
| JEL: | J14 J42 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18555 |
| By: | Muñoz, Ercio; Saavedra, Melanie; Sansone, Dario |
| Abstract: | This paper studies socioeconomic disparities in Mexico based on sexual orientation and gender identity using data from a nationally representative survey collected between 2021 and 2022 (N44, 189). It finds pronounced levels of self-reported discrimination and rejection among LGBTQ individuals throughout their lives. It also estimates that these groups rates of labor force participation and unemployment diverge from those of their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Additionally, a heterogeneity analysis provides novel insights into nuanced disparities within LGBTQ groups. |
| Keywords: | LGBTQ+;Labor force participation;Unemployment |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J71 O15 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14555 |
| By: | Oded Galor; Daniel C. Wainstock |
| Abstract: | Is income inequality in the United States primarily driven by disparities between ethnic groups or within them? The evidence reveals a striking pattern: 96% of U.S. income inequality arises from variation within groups sharing common ancestral origins, far overshadowing the comparatively small share attributable to differences between these groups. This pattern remains remarkably stable across time and regions. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Ethnicity, Within Group Inequality, Between Group Inequality |
| JEL: | O15 Z13 D63 J15 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26003 |
| By: | Ian Gregory-Smith; Alex Bryson; Rafael Gomez |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role that racial discrimination plays in the decision to retain or release an employee and demonstrates the implications for estimating pay gaps. Our empirical setting, professional American football players (NFL), allows us to separate the retention decision from the wage decision. For the first four years of a player's career, wages are mechanically determined and players are under a restricted ‘rookie' contract, during which they can be released without cost. Players who survive in the league beyond four years receive a large uptick in their remuneration upon signing their first ‘free-agency' contract. Consequently, marginal decisions over employment retention during the rookie contract have substantial implications for earnings realised over a player's career. We find subtle but significant differences in retention rates between Black and White players (approximately 3 percentage points) that can't be explained by a comprehensive set of individual characteristics including their productivity. We also show that traditional wage gap estimates, which appear to show equal earnings between Black and White players conditional upon playing position and productivity, mask underlying disparities in career earnings that become apparent when adjusting for these unequal retention rates. |
| Keywords: | discrimination; wages; retention |
| JEL: | J71 J31 Z22 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2554 |
| By: | Berniell, Inés; Berniell, Maria Lucila; Castillo, Victoria; Cañuelo, Belén; Mata, Dolores de la; García Oro, Gerardo; Grión, Néstor; Juncosa, Federico; Laguinge, Luis |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of an internship program in Argentina (Programa Primer Paso; PPP) on the formal employment trajectories of people with disabilities (PwD). Using administrative data from 2002 to 2023 and a staggered difference-in-differences design, we estimate that program participation increases formal employment and improves employment stability over time. The average probability of being formally employed rises by about 8 percentage points within three years after treatment, with the effect growing over time. The program also increases sustained employment--measured as at least 6 or 12 months of formal work per year--and total months in formal jobs. About three-quarters of the observed employment gains arise from jobs at firms other than the initial internship host, indicating broad integration into the formal labor market, not just formalization of preexisting ties. These results are robust to alternative specifications and pre-trend tests. The effects are larger for individuals residing in the capital city and those placed in medium-sized and large firms, and smaller for individuals with mental disabilities. No clear differences are found by age or gender. We find no evidence of changes in participating firms hiring behavior toward PwD after hosting a PPP intern with a disability. These findings suggest that internship programs can reduce labor market gaps for PwD in developing countries, with patterns consistent with three mechanisms: alleviating informational frictions, raising expectations about employment prospects, and acquiring transferable skills. |
| JEL: | J14 J48 I38 O17 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14571 |
| By: | Francine Blau; Isaac Cohen; Matthew Comey; Lawrence Kahn; Nikolai Boboshko |
| Abstract: | Using 1979-2019 Current Population Survey data, we study the effect of state and federal minimum wage policies on gender, race, and ethnic inequality. We find that minimum wages substantially reduce intergroup wage inequality at least up to the 20th wage percentile, with no evidence of adverse employment effects. We conduct counterfactual simulations of between-group inequality due to minimum wage changes since 1979. Declines in the real minimum wage in the 1980s slowed progress in narrowing between-group inequality. Relatively small changes in minimum wages during 1989-1998 and 1998-2007 meant little role for the minimum wage over those time spans. Since 2007, several states have steeply raised their minimum wages, especially raising Hispanics' relative wages, because they earn low wages and reside disproportionately in those states. Finally, we find that raising the federal minimum wage to $12/hour in 2020 dollars ($14.49 in 2025Q2 dollars) would reduce existing between-group wage gaps below the 15th percentile by 25-50%. |
| Keywords: | wage inequality, minimum wage, wage differentials, gender wage gaps, race wage gaps, Hispanic-White wage gaps |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J31 J38 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26002 |
| By: | Noah Arman Kouchekinia; David Neumark; Tim A. Bruckner |
| Abstract: | With large gains in life expectancy, the population share of disability due to cognitive decline and dementia has substantially increased. Many older adults in the United States leave the workforce well before age 65. Correlational evidence suggests that leaving the workforce before retirement age could accelerate the pace of cognitive decline. We offer causal evidence, using HRS data for the United States, exploiting plausibly exogenous shifts in labor demand in local labor markets as a Bartik instrument for employment variation across these markets. We find substantial declines over time in cognitive scores stemming from negative labor demand shocks. These findings are concentrated among men aged 51 to 64, whose employment decisions and outcomes may be more sensitive to local labor market conditions than are these decisions or outcomes for women or for older men. Our evidence extends past work focusing narrowly on the retirement age window and provides further support to the notion that working to older ages may delay age-related cognitive decline. |
| JEL: | I1 J14 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35117 |
| By: | Bratanova, Alexandra; Evans, David B; Irons, Jessica |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI) across the Australian sports sector, focusing on how the technology is reshaping athlete performance, operations, fan engagement and inclusion. Drawing on international evidence, Australian case studies and stakeholder insights, the paper identifies a set of use cases that illustrate both current applications and near-term opportunities. In high-performance contexts, AI is being applied to enhance athlete performance through automated data capture and real-time analytics, support personalised training and coaching, and predict injury and health risks. Additional uses include improving officiating accuracy, expanding talent identification pathways, strengthening integrity through anti-doping and match-fixing detection, and monitoring online abuse directed at athletes. Across sporting organisations, AI is supporting operational efficiency by automating administrative tasks, improving scheduling and communication, enhancing access to information, and strengthening volunteer recruitment and retention. Data-driven tools are also being used to optimise facility utilisation, support sustainability goals and assist with compliance processes. In fan engagement, AI enables more accessible and cost-effective broadcasting, generates highlights and personalised content, and delivers real-time insights to audiences. It also supports participation pathways and enhances marketing and sponsorship activities. Finally, AI is contributing to greater inclusion and accessibility by reducing language barriers, improving experiences for people with disability, and increasing the visibility and participation of under-represented groups. Together, these use cases demonstrate the breadth of AI’s potential to transform the sports ecosystem, while highlighting the need for careful and context-aware implementation. |
| Keywords: | Artificial intelligence; sport; AI; governance; responsible AI |
| JEL: | H4 I18 O3 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:128742 |
| By: | Alberto Bisin; Giulia Tura |
| Abstract: | We study cultural integration as an equilibrium outcome of marital matching along cultural and education lines and intra-household investment decisions regarding fertility and cultural socialization. We show that our marriage model allows us to identify cultural-ethnic group specific investment parameters as well as spousal preferences for marital matching. Structural estimates fit the data well and reveal a strong demand to preserve cultural identity on the part of immigrants as well as limited acceptance of the immigrants' cultural diversity on the part of natives. Furthermore, these estimates reveal a substantial heterogeneity of the parental value of children's education across cultures. Nonetheless, our estimates imply substantial - though heterogeneous - cultural integration rates across immigrant groups in simulations. |
| Keywords: | Marital Matching, Fertility, Cultural Transmission, Integration. |
| JEL: | D1 J12 J13 J15 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2573 |
| By: | Hae-young Hong; Jisoo Hwang; Jongwon Kim; Jungmin Lee |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first causal evidence on how developmental health screenings for young children affect parental behavior, leveraging a quasi-experimental change in South Korea's National Health Screening Program. Using a difference-in-discontinuities design and administrative data covering 1.3 million screening records, we find that "high-risk" screening results influence a wide range of parental behaviors, with responses varying significantly by household income. Among lower-income families, adverse results lead to greater use of publicly insured medical care, increased disability registration, and delays in subsequent childbirth. In contrast, higher-income families reduce maternal labor supply and are more likely to relocate, suggesting costly private adjustments to secure additional caregiving time and access to private developmental rehabilitation facilities. These findings highlight how household resources shape both the capacity and nature of parental responses to early health information. |
| Keywords: | developmental disorder, health screening |
| JEL: | I18 I14 D13 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2572 |
| By: | Annica Gehlen; Sebastian Becker; Johannes Geyer; Peter Haan |
| Abstract: | We provide novel evidence on the trade-off between insurance and incentives when adjusting disability insurance (DI) benefit generosity using a comprehensive measure that encompasses not only the effect on take-up but also behavioral responses of DI recipients with respect to employment and exit from DI. Based on administrative data from the German pension insurance and exogenous policy variation, we identify the relevant behavioral margins induced by a change in benefit generosity. Using a theoretical framework, we show that our comprehensive measure of incentive effects implies a fiscal multiplier of 1.83. Incorporating elasticities with respect to exit from DI increases the fiscal multiplier compared to estimates that only account for take-up elasticities. In the context of the model, we estimate that increasing benefits is welfare improving, given the insurance effects of DI benefits estimated in previous literature. |
| Keywords: | disability insurance, pension reform, wealth effect, labor supply, mortality, RDD |
| JEL: | H55 I12 J22 J26 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:25148 |
| By: | Rania Gihleb; Osea Giuntella; Dor Morag |
| Abstract: | Using machine learning and product-level data on single men’s and single women’s consumption patterns, we develop an index that quantifies the “gendered” nature of consumer goods. We use the index to investigate how gender-specific labor market shocks influence spending patterns within heterosexual households. Our findings reveal that industrial robot adoption, which worsened men’s relative economic position, shifted household consumption toward products predominantly purchased by single women. In contrast, the expansion of fracking, which boosted demand for young and less skilled men, yields suggestive but less robust evidence of increased spending on goods favored by single men. Although neither shock significantly altered total spending on children’s products, robot exposure led to a reallocation of spending toward goods more commonly purchased for daughters than for sons. |
| JEL: | J10 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35118 |