Age, Women, and Hiring: An Experimental Study

46 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2005 Last revised: 1 Oct 2022

See all articles by Joanna Lahey

Joanna Lahey

Texas A&M University - George Bush School of Government and Public Service; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 2005

Abstract

As the baby boom cohort reaches retirement age, demographic pressures on public programs such as social security may cause policy makers to cut benefits and encourage employment at later ages. This paper reports on a labor market experiment to determine the hiring conditions for older women in entry-level jobs in Boston, MA and St. Petersburg, FL. Differential interviewing by age is found for these jobs. A younger worker is more than 40% more likely to be offered an interview than an older worker. No evidence is found to support taste-based discrimination as a reason for this differential and some suggestive evidence is found to support statistical discrimination.

Suggested Citation

Lahey, Joanna, Age, Women, and Hiring: An Experimental Study (June 2005). NBER Working Paper No. w11435, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=752013

Joanna Lahey (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University - George Bush School of Government and Public Service ( email )

TAMU 4220
1004 George Bush Dr West
College Station, TX 77843
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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