Lowering the Playing Field: Discrimination through Sequential Spillover Effects
通过简历评分实验发现，雇主在评估候选人时存在序列溢出效应：候选人若排在白人男性之后，评分会低于排在女性或少数族裔之后。这种效应与直接偏见呈反向关系，在高质量简历或STEM行业中对白人男性有直接偏好而无溢出效应，在低质量简历或非STEM行业中则无直接偏见但有强溢出效应。
Abstract We document a new way that discrimination operates: through sequential spillover effects. Employers in an incentivized resume rating experiment evaluate a sequence of hypothetical candidates with randomly assigned characteristics. Candidates are rated worse when following white men than when following women or minorities. Exploring the mechanisms, we find that spillover effects are inversely related to direct bias. When reviewing high-quality resumes or recruiting in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) industries, employers directly favor white men and display no spillover effect. For low-quality resumes or non-STEM industries, we find no direct bias but a strong spillover effect. Results suggest that discrimination arises in subtle ways.