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Research ArticleArticles

Do Low-Wage Employers Discriminate against Applicants with Long Commutes?

Evidence from a Correspondence Experiment

David C. Phillips
Journal of Human Resources, July 2020, 55 (3) 864-901; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.55.3.1016-8327R
David C. Phillips
David C. Phillips is an associate research professor at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame ()
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Abstract

I use a correspondence study of the low-wage labor market in Washington, DC to test whether employers discriminate against applicants who live farther from the job location. Fictional résumés randomly assigned to addresses far from the job location receive 14 percent fewer callbacks than those with addresses in nearby but similarly affluent neighborhoods. Living five to six miles away from the job results in a penalty equal to that received by applicants with stereotypically black names. On the other hand, holding commute distance constant, I find no statistical evidence that employers respond to a neighborhood’s affluence.

JEL Classification
  • J7
  • R2
  • J6
  • Received October 2016.
  • Accepted July 2018.
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Journal of Human Resources: 55 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 55, Issue 3
1 Jul 2020
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Do Low-Wage Employers Discriminate against Applicants with Long Commutes?
David C. Phillips
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2020, 55 (3) 864-901; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.3.1016-8327R

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Do Low-Wage Employers Discriminate against Applicants with Long Commutes?
David C. Phillips
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2020, 55 (3) 864-901; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.3.1016-8327R
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • I. Introduction
    • II. Background
    • III. Experimental Design
    • IV. Results
    • V. Conclusion
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Keywords

  • J7
  • R2
  • J6
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