TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Devos, Louise
AU  - Bois, Kristen du
AU  - Baert, Stijn
AU  - Lippens, Louis
        TI  - Ethnocultural Identity and Hiring Decisions: The Role of Social Desirability and Employer Bias
        PY  - 2026/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18372
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18372
        AB  - This study examines how professional recruiters evaluate fictitious job applicants with profiles that systematically vary in signals that form ethnocultural identity rather than isolated minority markers. Using a preregistered factorial survey experiment true to recruiters’ organisational context, we assess how greater perceived distance from the ethnocultural majority is associated with hiring intentions. Structural equation modelling shows that lower perceived ethnocultural alignment is strongly and negatively associated with the likelihood of a candidate being considered for a job interview. This bias is also reflected in the extent to which recruiters identify with a candidate, as well as in taste-based expectations and competence assessments related to communication, efficiency, and leadership. Methodologically, we reinforce the credibility of the experimental findings by explicitly addressing socially desirable responses using three complementary approaches. Across all specifications, perceived alignment with the ethnocultural majority emerges as a robust and consistent correlate of hiring intentions.
        KW  - identity
KW  - social desirability
KW  - factorial survey experiment
KW  - hiring
KW  - discrimination
        ER  -