PUBLICATIONS
IDENTITY AND BIAS: INSIGHTS FROM DRIVING TESTS
(w/ Asaf Zussman)
Economic Journal, Vol. 130(625), pp. 1-23
How does one's identity affect the evaluation of others? To shed light on this question, we analyze the universe of driving tests conducted in Israel between 2006 and 2015, leveraging the effectively random assignment of students and testers to tests. We find strong and robust evidence of both ethnic (Arab/Jewish) in-group bias and gender out-group bias. While the first result is in line with the typical finding in the literature, the second is novel. Analyses of administrative and survey data suggest a utility-based interpretation for the observed patterns: testers seem to reward members of groups whose company they enjoy.
CUSTOMER DISCRIMINATION: EVIDENCE FROM ISRAEL
(w/ Asaf Zussman)
Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 35, October 2017, pp. 1031-1059
This paper studies customer discrimination against Arab workers in the Israeli market for labor-intensive services. Relying on surveys, field data and a natural experiment, we provide evidence consistent with Becker’s customer discrimination model. First, a significant share of Jewish customers prefers to receive labor-intensive services from firms employing Jewish rather than Arab workers; these preferences are most strongly linked to concerns for personal safety. Second, customer preferences affect firms’ hiring decisions. Third, firms employing Arab workers charge significantly lower service prices than those employing only Jewish workers.