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Who’s Displaced First? The Role of Race in Layoff Decisions
Author(s) -
Elvira Marta M.,
Zatzick Christopher D.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/1468-232x.00248
Subject(s) - layoff , race (biology) , demographic economics , inequality , racial differences , racial group , test (biology) , labour economics , psychology , economics , unemployment , political science , ethnic group , sociology , economic growth , gender studies , mathematical analysis , paleontology , mathematics , law , biology
We test empirically the proposition that race significantly affects an employee’s layoff chances. Using data from a financial firm (N = 8918), we find that whites are less likely to be laid off than nonwhites and that, among nonwhites, Asians are less likely to be laid off than blacks or Hispanics. These findings are statistically significant after controlling for structural factors (business unit, occupation, and job level) and individual characteristics (tenure and performance rating). A similar pattern of racial differences exists in other employment practices more actively monitored by the firm, including promotions, pay raises, and performance ratings. Yet these differences are smaller than those in layoffs and are significant for blacks only, not for Hispanics. Our findings suggest that monitoring personnel decisions can reduce racial inequality. Furthermore, our findings highlight that racial differences in employment outcomes vary among minority groups.