Muslim by default or religious discrimination? Results from a cross-national field experiment on hiring discrimination

Figures & data

Table 1. Distribution of applications across comparison groups and countries of origin

Country of origin	Type of voluntary work		Total N of sent applications
PANEL A. Majority groups	Secular majority (volunteering in secular associations)
Germany	361	–	361
Netherlands	492	–	492
Norway	227	–	227
Spain	448	–	448
UK	404	–	404
PANEL B. Minority groups	Muslim by default (volunteering in secular associations)	Disclosed Muslim (volunteering in Muslim associations)
Eastern Europe
Albania	184	66	250
Bulgaria	168	67	235
Russia	102	55	157
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Egypt	124	59	183
Iran	116	112	228
Iraq	141	109	250
Lebanon	218	109	327
Morocco	476	467	943
Turkey	445	401	846
South and Southeast Asia
Indonesia	105	58	163
India	139	46	185
Pakistan	430	389	819
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Ethiopia	90	62	155
Nigeria	309	157	466
Uganda	98	47	145
Total N applications	5,077	2,207	7,284

Table 2. Callbacks by country.

	Callback rates			Callback ratios
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
Country of destination	Majority members	Muslims by default	Disclosed Muslims	Majority/Muslims by default	Muslims by default/Disclosed Muslims
Germany	50.57	44.34	40.59	1.14*	1.09
Netherlands	53.43	40.79	35.33	1.31***	1.15
Norway	32.16	16.61	10.92	1.94***	1.52*
Spain	17.19	19.19	16.28	0.90	1.18
UK	24.15	13.89	12.38	1.74***	1.12
Germany	37.50	30.37	29.46	1.23*	1.03
Netherlands	43.87	31.70	26.01	1.38***	1.22*
Norway	22.47	13.36	7.86	1.68**	1.70*
Spain	16.29	18.87	15.83	0.86	1.19
UK	12.86	9.08	6.75	1.42*	1.34^∼

Note: Test of proportions, one-tailed. * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001.

Table 3. Probability to receive a positive callback from the employer (Linear probability model).

	(1) Pooled model	(2) Pooled Men only	(3) Pooled Women only	(4) UK	(5) Spain	(6) Germany	(7) Norway	(8) Netherlands
Ref. Muslim by default
Secular Majority	0.066***	0.052**	0.083***	0.108***	−0.032	0.056∼	0.131**	0.098***
	(0.014)	(0.019)	(0.020)	(0.027)	(0.026)	(0.034)	(0.041)	(0.029)
Disclosed Muslim	−0.037**	−0.031*	−0.036*	−0.014	−0.032	−0.047	−0.060*	−0.034
	(0.011)	(0.015)	(0.017)	(0.019)	(0.023)	(0.029)	(0.030)	(0.025)
Country fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes
Occupation fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	0.294***	0.300***	0.287***	0.217***	0.241***	0.623***	0.193***	0.631***
	(0.017)	(0.023)	(0.025)	(0.033)	(0.024)	(0.038)	(0.045)	(0.029)
N applications	7152	3756	3396	1641	1504	1410	733	1864
R^2	0.163	0.175	0.156	0.042	0.059	0.165	0.103	0.184

Notes: Robust standard errors in parentheses, two-tailed. ∼p < .1, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

All models control for migration status (foreign-born/second generation).

Dependent variable: any interest from the employer.

Table 4. Probability to receive an invitation from the employer (Linear probability model).

	(1) Pooled model	(2) Pooled Men only	(3) Pooled Women only	(4) UK	(5) Spain	(6) Germany	(7) Norway	(8) Netherlands
Ref. Muslim by default
Secular Majority	0.048***	0.046**	0.051**	0.040∼	−0.036	0.063∼	0.075*	0.102***
	(0.013)	(0.018)	(0.019)	(0.022)	(0.026)	(0.033)	(0.037)	(0.028)
Disclosed Muslim	−0.035***	−0.026∼	−0.041**	−0.023	−0.033	−0.017	−0.060*	−0.043∼
	(0.011)	(0.014)	(0.016)	(0.015)	(0.023)	(0.028)	(0.026)	(0.023)
Country fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes
Occupation fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	0.227***	0.245***	0.205***	0.147***	0.238***	0.479***	0.171***	0.538***
	(0.016)	(0.022)	(0.023)	(0.028)	(0.024)	(0.039)	(0.043)	(0.029)
N applications	7152	3756	3396	1641	1504	1410	733	1864
R^2	0.119	0.130	0.113	0.018	0.046	0.109	0.095	0.160

Note: Robust standard errors in parentheses, two-tailed. ∼p < .1, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

All models control for migration status (foreign-born/second generation).

Dependent variable: explicit interest from the employer (e.g. invitation to a job interview or notification of being shortlisted).

Table 5. Probability to receive a positive callback from the employer. Analysis conducted on a sub-sample of applicants that only included ethnic minorities (Linear probability model).

	(1) Pooled	(3) Pooled – Men only	(4) Pooled – Women only	(5) Pooled	(6) Pooled – Men only	(7) Pooled – Women only
	DV: Any interest			DV: Invitation/Shortlist
Ref. Muslim by default
Disclosed Muslim	−0.034**	−0.030*	−0.030∼	−0.033**	−0.024∼	−0.039*
	(0.011)	(0.015)	(0.017)	(0.011)	(0.014)	(0.016)
Muslim group (ref. Eastern Europe):
MENA	−0.058**	−0.061*	−0.055∼	−0.043*	−0.058*	−0.024
	(0.019)	(0.025)	(0.028)	(0.018)	(0.025)	(0.026)
Sub-Saharan Africa	−0.069**	−0.098***	−0.036	−0.044*	−0.079**	−0.005
	(0.022)	(0.030)	(0.033)	(0.021)	(0.028)	(0.031)
South and Southeast Asia	−0.040∼	−0.050∼	−0.026	−0.027	−0.048∼	0.001
	(0.021)	(0.028)	(0.032)	(0.020)	(0.027)	(0.029)
Country fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Occupation fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	0.302***	0.318***	0.281***	0.243***	0.289***	0.185***
	(0.025)	(0.034)	(0.037)	(0.023)	(0.032)	(0.034)
N applications	5263	2801	2462	5263	2801	2462
R^2	0.155	0.168	0.147	0.107	0.116	0.104

Note: Robust standard errors in parentheses, two-tailed. ∼p < .1, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

All models control for migration status (foreign-born/second generation).

Table

Countries	Share of population that is Muslim (%)
Eastern Europe
Albania	79.9
Bulgaria	12.2
Russia	11.7
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Egypt	94.6
Iran	99.4
Iraq	99∼
Lebanon	59.3
Morocco	99∼
Turkey	98∼
South and Southeast Asia
Indonesia	88.2
India	13.4
Pakistan	96.3
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Ethiopia	33.9
Nigeria	50.4
Uganda	12.1

Source: http://www.pewforum.org/chart/interactive-data-table-world-muslim-population-by-country/.

Table

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
Country	Eastern Europe	Middle East and North Africa	Sub Saharan Africans	South and Southeast Asia
PANEL A: Any interest from the employer
Germany	57.14	41.61	44.72	37.84
Netherlands	45.13	37.81	29.13	39.69
Norway	21.82	13.45	11.48	13.28
Spain	20.57	17.24	13.46	22.46
UK	11.86	13.57	12.47	13.97
PANEL B: Shortlisting or invitation to a job interview
Germany	39.56	29.33	32.52	26.13
Netherlands	33.19	28.39	24.27	33.59
Norway	18.18	12.61	11.48	8.49
Spain	20.57	16.64	13.46	22.46
UK	6.78	8.57	7.48	8.58

Table

	(1) Pooled model – Any interest		(2) Pooled model – Only invitation/shortlist
Ref. Muslim by default
Secular Majority	0.056**	0.090*	0.035*	0.047
	(0.017)	(0.035)	(0.016)	(0.030)
Disclosed Muslim	−0.053**	−0.049*	−0.040*	−0.037*
	(0.019)	(0.019)	(0.018)	(0.017)
Disclosed Christian	0.004	0.003	0.005	0.003
	(0.019)	(0.019)	(0.018)	(0.018)
Country fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Occupation fixed effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Origin country fixed effects		Yes		Yes
Constant	0.277***	0.269***	0.203***	0.191***
	(0.022)	(0.031)	(0.021)	(0.029)
N applications	4656	4656	4656	4656
R^2	0.166	0.174	0.124	0.130

Note: Robust standard errors in parentheses, two-tailed. ∼ p < 0.1, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

All models control for migration status (foreign-born/second generation). Analysis conducted on a sub-sample that only included the majority group and minorities from countries with both a substantial Muslim and a substantial Christian population (Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Russia, and Uganda).