Do we discriminate against immigrants? A random field experiment in the Argentine labor market

Last registered on November 15, 2023

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Do we discriminate against immigrants? A random field experiment in the Argentine labor market

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0012410

Initial registration date

November 01, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

November 15, 2023, 12:51 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

Argentina

Region

Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA)

Primary Investigator

Name

Gabriel Laffitte

Affiliation

IIEP - Universidad de Buenos Aires

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2023-11-06

End date

2024-03-18

Keywords

Labor

Additional Keywords

labor market discrimination, correspondence test, field experiments, immigration

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

The research intends to study immigrant discrimination in the Argentinian labor market, using a Randomized Control Trial (RCT). Based on the seminal paper of Bertrand and Mullainathan (2004), fictitious but plausible resumes will be sent to active job vacancies published on a digital platform. The treatment is being from a non-Argentine nationality. I am sending resumes to four different kinds of work and different industries. Due to the origin from the immigrants in Argentina, the treatment will be the nationality from neighboring countries (Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay). I distinguish two different treatments, considering the various cultural similarities between those countries and the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). Particularly there will be two treatments: being from Paraguay or Bolivia, and being from Chile or Uruguay. The control group will be the resumes with argentinian nationality.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Laffitte, Gabriel. 2023. "Do we discriminate against immigrants? A random field experiment in the Argentine labor market." AEA RCT Registry. November 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12410-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2023-11-06

Intervention End Date

2024-03-18

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

The main outcome is the rate of callbacks from the firms who show any interest in continuing the recruiting process.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Fictitious resumes will be sent to active job vacancies from the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA), in order to estimate the causal effect of discrimination. The job vacancies are published on a digital platform and several fictitious accounts will be made for that purpose. The resumes are built using actual resumes from the labor market, and have been altered to anonymize them. The fictitious resumes differ in two characteristics: nationality and gender. Only one resume will be sent to each job vacancy, and which resume will be sent is chosen at random.
I have made four models of resumes for each position where the resumes will be sent. This has been done to match the resume with the job search, in order to increase the chance of being called and in order to avoid being detected by the recruiting team of each company. The randomization of the treatment will be done within each industry, and I will send resumes until 18th march 2024 or until I reach an 80% of power.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization will be done with a computer software.

Randomization Unit

Job vacancy

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

2500 job vacancies

Sample size: planned number of observations

2500 job vacancies

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

1250 resumes with argentinian nationality (control), 625 resumes with chilean/uruguayan nationality (treatment 1), 25 resumes with bolivian/ paraguayan nationality (treatment 2)

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB