Does age matter for employability? A field experiment on ageism in the Swedish labour market

• Published in: Applied economics letters Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 403 - 406
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Ali M., Andersson, Lina, Hammarstedt, Mats
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis 01-03-2012; Taylor and Francis Journals; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Series: Applied Economics Letters
• Subjects: Age discrimination; ageism; Economic analysis; Economics; Employers; field experiment; Field work; Job openings; Labor economics; Labor market; Labour demand; Labour economics; Labour force; Labour force utilization; Labour market; Labour market participation; Nationalekonomi; Older workers; Studies; Sweden; Unemployed; Unemployment; Sweden
• ISSN: 1350-4851; 1466-4291; 1466-4291
• DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2011.581199

This article presents the findings of the first field experiment on age discrimination in the Swedish labour market. Pairs of matched applications, one from a fictitious 31-year-old male applicant and one from a fictitious 46-year-old male applicant, were sent to employers with job openings for restaurant workers and sales assistants. Employers' responses to the applicants were then recorded. The experimental data provide clear and strong evidence of significant ageism in the Swedish labour market. On average, the younger applicant received over 3 times more responses from employers looking to hire a restaurant worker and over 4 times more responses from employers looking to hire a sales assistant than the older applicant. Therefore, the older applicant received significantly fewer invitations for interviews and job offers than the younger applicant in both occupations examined.