The effect of neighborhood composition on ethnic discrimination in the labor market

Abstract

In this article, we explore the relationship between ethnic discrimination and neighborhood composition using a field experiment involving employment applications in the fast-food industry in metropolitan France. First of all, we note a high overall level of discrimination in hiring on the basis of ethnic origin. Second, we merged the experimental dataset with census data at a fine geographical level so that we could explore the link between ethnic discrimination and the ethnic composition of the neighborhood. We find that the relationship between ethnic discrimination and the proportion of non-French nationals in a neighborhood is non-linear and negative.