Measuring Labor Market Discrimination: An Overview of Methods and Their Characteristics

The labor market is a distribution mechanism that assigns individuals to differently rated positions. Labor market processes therefore lead to social inequality. The question of whether social descent, age, gender, ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation plays a role in these processes is thus as important as it is delicate. This article describes four main methods to empirically investigate discrimination. These methods are systematically compared on methodological and substantial criteria. Dutch labor market research on the effects of ethnic origin is used to clarify the methods. Particular attention is paid to access to jobs, whereas wage discrimination is briefly discussed. The general conclusion is that no one method is superior. For this reason, it is advisable to use triangulation, that is, a combination of methods to reveal discrimination.

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