Am I better off changing my name to “Alexander”? Ethnic discrimination and its effect on wages in the Russian labor market

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether ethnic discrimination is present in the Russian labor market and whether it has a significant economic effect on the potential salaries of applicants.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a correspondence audit for four experimental male applicants with identical professional and personal characteristics while differing only in applicant name as a signal of applicants' ethnic background. Implied ethnicities include Russians, Armenians, Jews and North Caucasians. Résumés were sent out to 800 real unique vacancies on behalf of the experimental applicants with a geographic focus on the capital Moscow.

Findings

The results of the analysis suggest that there is a significant difference in treatment in both response rate and potential average salaries on ethnic grounds. Disadvantaged groups were found to be systematically pushed into jobs paying 15% less monthly wage.

Originality/value

The study investigates the existence of ethnic discrimination in the Russian labor market and furthermore economically quantifies the effects of discrimination.

Citation

Shakhbazov, M. and Badreldin, A. (2023), "Am I better off changing my name to “Alexander”? Ethnic discrimination and its effect on wages in the Russian labor market", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 43 No. 1/2, pp. 178-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-02-2022-0039