Question

Many firms include on their employment applications a box that job seekers are asked to check if they have ever been convicted of a crime. Some firms automatically reject applicants who check the box. As a result, some people with criminal convictions have difficulty finding a job, which may increase the likelihood that they will commit another crime. Some states and cities have enacted "ban the box" legislation that forbids firms from asking about criminal histories on job applications, although typically the firms are allowed to ask such questions in job interviews. A study by Jennifer L. Doleac of Texas A&M University and Benjamin Hansen of the University of Oregon found that ban the box legislation significantly reduces the probability of employment among young male African-American job applicants. The economists note that ban the box legislation: "does not address employers' concerns about hiring those with criminal records, and so could increase discrimination against groups that are more likely to include recently-incarcerated ex-offenders..." Source: Jennifer L. Doleac and Benjamin Hansen, "Does 'Ban The Box' Help or Hurt Low-Skilled Workers? Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden," National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 22469 , July 2016. Briefly explain why this result might have occurred. Relate your answer to the reasons firms might be more likely to interview an applicant with a white-sounding name even if the applicant's resume was identical to that of an applicant with a black-sounding name. A. Potential employers may have believed that those with black-sounding names had completed less education. B. Those firms in the study probably believed that differing preferences for jobs exist between blacks and whites. C. They may have believed that those with a black-sounding name had higher marginal productivities. D.Hiring firms may have believed that those with black-sounding names were more likely to have a criminal conviction.

Answer 1

These two statements are correct:

A. Potential employers may have believed that those with black-sounding names had completed less education.

African Americans on average have less rates of graduation from tertirary education than White Americans.

This situation might lead some employers to develop streotypes about African Americans being less educated, when it is clearly an error, and unfair, to reject a potential employee because of stereotyping instead of making an individualized analysis of his or her abilities.

D. Hiring firms may have believed that those with black-sounding names were more likely to have a criminal conviction.

African Americans on average are incarcerated more often than other ethnic groups in the US. The reasons for this are complex but poverty and racial discrimination are two big factors. This situation causes some employees to develop streotypes, leading to unfair situations as described in the first answer.