AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Belief Updating, Observability, and Race in the Labor Market
AEA Papers and Proceedings
(pp. 422–425)
Abstract
Inaccurate beliefs about racial gaps in productivity can have wide-ranging implications in the workplace. In an online experiment, we hired a nationally representative sample of Prolific workers to assess the performance of Amazon Mechanical Turk workers on a math test based on stylized resumes. Participants randomly assigned to a Black primary investigator evaluated Black workers as more productive than participants assigned to a White primary investigator. This study provides suggestive evidence on how the racial identity of supervisors may shift perceived racial differences in productivity and how Black leaders can disrupt belief-based discrimination against Black workers.Citation
Opoku-Agyeman, Anna Gifty, and Emma Rackstraw. 2026. "Belief Updating, Observability, and Race in the Labor Market." AEA Papers and Proceedings 116: 422–425. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261085Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- M54 Personnel Economics: Labor Management