Equity and Efficiency in Anti-Discrimination Policy: Evidence from an Anonymous Hiring Pilot

Abstract

Anonymous hiring restricts the information available to hiring managers, potentially creating a trade-off between equity and hiring efficiency. To study this trade-off, we leverage a pilot program by the City of Helsinki in which hiring for some, but not all, job titles was subject to anonymization. We find that foreign-named applicants were more likely to be hired without detrimental effects on job turnover or wages. Announcing anonymization increased job applications, but not by groups that ex-post had the most to gain. Our results suggest that anonymization can be an effective tool to combat discrimination.

Keywords: discrimination, anonymous hiring, anti-discrimination policy

JEL Classification: J15, J68, J71