Syllabus: The Economics of Discrimination - Prof. Dr. Andrea Weber

Mannheim, 06.02.2012
Syllabus: The Economics of Discrimination
Universität Mannheim, Blockseminar, Frühjahr 2012
Prof. Dr. Andrea Weber
Termine:
Einführung : Freitag, 17.02.2012, 09:00 bis 12:00
Blockseminar I : Fr. 09.03.2012, 09:00 bis 18:00
Blockseminar II: Sa. 10.03.2012, 09:00 bis 18:00
Course Overview and Objectives
Not all difference results from discrimination. Not all discrimination results in
observable differences. This course will focus on issues of difference and discrimination
associated with race, gender, nation of birth, or age focusing particularly on the labor
market. We will discuss economic theories that explain discrimination and how
econometrics is used to address questions of discrimination.
Enrollment and Course Website:
Please register for the seminar at the Studierendenportal
https://portal.uni-mannheim.de/
Registered students can also access the ILIAS webpage for the seminar, where you find
the program and literature references.
Contact and Office Hours
Professor Andrea Weber, L7, 3-5, Room 4.20, a.weber@uni-mannheim.de
Office hours: Tuesday 14:00 – 15:00.
Appointment: if you cannot make the office hours, send an email and request an
appointment
Course Requirements
At the introductory meeting, each student selects one of the suggested topics (below)
and prepares a 30 minutes presentation based on the literature references and the
material covered in the introduction.
In addition, each student selects a second topic for which she/he prepares a 5 minute
discussion, based on a colleague’s presentation.
During the seminar blocks a time slot of 45 minutes is assigned to each topic to allow for
general discussion as well.
Presentation slides have to be sent to Andrea Weber and the respective discussant of the
presentation by March 7 at latest.
After the seminar each students hands in a written report of his/her topic summarizing
the presentation and comments from the discussion (maximum 5 pages).
Language: Presentations and written reports can be either in English or German.

Course Grading
Seminar presentaion (60%), oral performance in presentation and discussion (10%),
Written summary (30%).
Program:
Introduction: Friday 17.2. (Andrea Weber)
How do economists think about discrimination Economic theories of
discrimination
George J. Borjas, Labor Economics (Irwin McGraw Hill), Chapter 10
Becker, Gary (1975): The Economics of Discrimination, Second Edition, The University
of Chicago Press, Chicago.
List of Topics with literature references (9.3. and 10.3.)
1. Who are economists Status of minority groups in the economics profession
Rouse, Cecilia (2009) Report of the Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the
Economics Profession, American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 99:2, 700–
709.
Collins, Susan M. “Minority Groups in the Economics Profession,” Journal of Economic
Perspectives 14 (Spring 2000): 133-148.
6. Evidence of Discrimination: Audit Studies
Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan (2003): Are Emily and Greg More
Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal : A Field Experiment on Labor Market
Discrimination, NBER Working Paper 9873.
Goldin, Claudia und Cecilia Rouse (2000): Orchestrating Impartiality: The Effect of
'Blind' Auditions on Female Musicians, American Economic Review, 90(4), 715-741.
7. Evidence of Discrimination: Laboratory and field experiments
Niederle, Muriel, Vesterlund, Lise, 2007. Do women shy away from competition Do men
compete too much Quarterly Journal of Economics 122 (3), 1067-1101.
Gneezy, Uri, Kenneth L. Leonard, John A. List (2009) Gender differences in competition:
Evidence from a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society, Econometrica, 77, No. 5, 1637–
1664.
2. Gender wage differences in Germany and in international comparison
Beblo, M., Beninger, D., Heinze, A., Laisney, F., Measuring Selectivity-Corrected Gender
Wage Gaps in the EU, .ZEW Mannheim, Working Paper, 2003, (03-74).
Al-Farhan, Usamah Fayez (2010), Changes in the Gender Wage Gap in Germany during
a Period of Rising Wage Inequality 1999 – 2006: Was it Discrimination in the Returns to
Human Capital SOEP paper 293.
Weichselbaumer, D., Winter-Ebmer, R., "A Meta-analysis of the International Gender
Wage Gap", Journal of Economic Surveys, 2005, 19(3), S. 479-511.
3. Discrimination in the labor market: Gender differences in top positions

Holst, E., and A. Busch. "Der "Gender Pay Gap" in Fü hrungspositionen der
Privatwirtschaft in Deutschland," Deutsches Institut fü r Wirtschaftsforschung
(DIW), SOEPpapers 169, 2009
Bertrand, Marianne and Kevin F. Hallock (2001): The gender gap in top corporate jobs,
Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 55(1), 3-21
4. Discrimination in the labor market: Discrimination and beauty
Hamermesh, Daniel S. and Jeff E. Biddle (1994), "Beauty and the labor market",
American Economic Review 84, 1174-1194.
Biddle, Jeff E. and Daniel S. Hamermesh (1998), “Beauty, Productivity and
Discrimination: Lawyers’ Looks and Lucre” Journal of Labor Economics, 16, 172-201.
5. Market competition and discrimination
Sandra E. Black; Philip E. Strahan (2001) The Division of Spoils: Rent-Sharing and
Discrimination in a Regulated Industry, The American Economic Review, Vol. 91, No. 4.
pp. 814-831.
Charles, Kerwin, and Jonathan Guryan (2008): Prejudice and Wages: An Empirical
Assessment of Becker’s The Economics of Discrimination, Journal of Political Economy,
116(5), 773-809.
8. Discrimination in markets other than the labor market: Education
Currie, Janet and Duncan Thomas, “Does Head Start Help Hispanic Children” Journal of
Public Economics 74 (November 1999): 235-262
Charles, Camille A. et al, “The Continuing Consequences of Segregation: Family Stress
and College Academic Performance,” Social Science Quarterly 85 (December 2004):
1353-73.
9. Discrimination in markets other than the labor market: Crime
Schanzenbach, Max. “Racial and Sex Disparities in Prison Sentences: The Effect of
District-Level Judicial Demographics.” Journal of Legal Studies 34 (January 2005): 57-92.
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/425597
Holzer, Harry J; Raphael, Steven; Stoll, Michael A. “Perceived Criminality, Criminal
Background Checks, and the Racial Hiring Practices of Employers.” Journal of Law and
Economics 49 (October 2006): 451-80
10. Discrimination in markets other than the labor market: Savings and Wealth
Ladd, Helen F., “Evidence on Discrimination in Mortgage Lending,” Journal of Economic
Perspectives 12 (Spring1998): 41-62.
Yinger, John, “Evidence on Discrimination in Consumer Markets,” Journal of Economic
Perspectives 12 (Spring1998): 23-40.

Additional Literature:
Altonji, Joseph G. and Rebecca M. Blank (1999): Race and Gender in the Labor Market, in:
Orley Ashenfelter and David Card, Handbook of Labor Economics, Volume 3C, North
Holland, Amsterdam, p. 3143-3257
Bertrand, Marianne (2010): New Perspectives on Gender, in: Orley Ashenfelter and
David Card, Handbook of Labor Economics, Volume 4B, North Holland, Amsterdam, p.
1545-1592
Gneezy, Uri, Muriel Niederle and Aldo Rustichini (2001): Performance in competitive
enviroments: Gender differences, Harvard University.
Niederle, Muriel, Vesterlund, Lise, 2008. Gender differences in competition. Negotiation
Journal 24 (4), 447-463.
Ashenfelter, Orley and Timothy Hannan (1986): Sex Discrimination and Product Market
Competition: The Case of the Banking Industry, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 101/1,
pp. 149-173.
Anderson, Lisa, Roland G. Fryer, and Charles Holt (2005) Discrimination: Experimental
Evidence from Psychology and Economics
Hunt, J. "The Transition in East Germany: When Is a Ten-Point Fall in the Gender Wage
Gap Bad News," Journal of Labor Economics, 2002, University of Chicago
Press, 20(1), pp. 148-169
Gartner, H. and G. Stephan. "How Collective Contracts and Works Councils Reduce the
Gender Wage Gap," Institut fü r Arbeitsmarkt und Berufsforschung (IAB),
Discussion Paper 7, 2004.
Blau, F., and L. Kahn. "International Differences in Male Wage Inequality: Institutions
versus Market Forces," Journal of Political Economy, 1996, University of
Chicago Press, 104(4), pp. 791-836.
Beblo, M. and E. Wolf. “Sind es die Erwerbsunterbrechungen Ein Erklärungsbeitrag
zum Lohnunterschied zwischen Frauen und Männern in Deutschland,”
Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung MittAB 4, 36, 2003,
pp. 560-572.
Arrow, Kenneth. “What Has Economics to Say about Racial Discrimination,” Journal of
Economic Perspectives 12 (Spring, 1998): 91-100.
Fryer, Roland G., Jr; Loury, Glenn C. “Affirmative Action and Its Mythology.” Journal of
Economic Perspectives 19 (Summer 2005): 147-62
Crime
Butcher, Kristin F. and Piehl, Anne Morrison. “Why are Immigrants' Incarceration Rates
so Low Evidence on Selective Immigration, Deterrence, and Deportation.” NBER
Working Paper No. 13229 (July 2007). http://www.nber.org/papers/w1322.