Arianna Gatta, University of Queensland - Do employers discriminate against participants in Active Labour Market policies?

Title: Do employers discriminate against participants in Active Labour Market policies? A field experiment on the Youth Guarantee Internship in Italy

Abstract: This work investigates whether employers discriminate candidates that participated in Active Labor Market Policies at the beginning of their career, examining the case of the Youth Guarantee subsidized internships in Italy. Through a field experiment fictitious resumes were sent to real employers in 11 Italian cities. The data collection period included the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, providing a unique occasion to study hiring behaviour following a negative shock in the labour market. Each resume randomly displayed participation in the Youth Guarantee internship, a regular internship, or an unemployment gap after university graduation, followed by additional work experience. Employers discriminate Youth Guarantee interns compared to those unemployed or regular interns. Discrimination is strongest when sectorial IT skills are not on the resume, suggesting that employers perceive the program as detrimental for human capital accumulation and use it as a cue to statistically discriminate.

Presenter:  Arianna Gatta, Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland

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