Disadvantage of convicted applicants at the labor market A study within a controlled environment

The discrimination of convicted applicants in the labor market represents an important and complex issue. Despite the plausibility of such discrimination, its proper detection with the type of data that is typically available is extremely difficult. Our contribution measures and analyzes Student employers' employment and wage payment decisions, and reciprocity expectations within a controlled environment. We show that convicted applicants have significantly lower opportunities to be employed and to receive an appropriate wage. Besides conviction, the applicants' citizenship also plays a major role. Moreover, we show that employers' decisions are not only driven by an expected inferior reciprocity but also by pure discrimination. Our approach is innovative and new in the context of existing sociological and economic literature.