Published Papers

• #Inviteme: Can Social Media Information Reduce Discrimination? Evidence from a Field Experiment (with Christian Manger & Kerstin Pull)
  Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2023)
  Abstract: We study whether and to what extent social media information can reduce (ethnic) discrimination in a two-sided market characterized by asymmetric information. We analyze whether information that breaks with prevailing ethnic stereotypes might induce the uninformed side of the market to update its probabilistic beliefs on a desired, but hidden quality of an ethnic minority applicant. We create eight social media profiles (male and female) and apply for 3,676 vacant room ads for shared housing on a two-sided platform. The profiles are each identical within one gender, except for the different names assigned to them: two profiles of each gender are assigned a Turkish-sounding name, two a German-sounding name. To each application, we randomly assign one of the eight names and whether it contains a link to the corresponding social media profile. When an application includes such a link, the otherwise substantial discrimination against applicants with Turkish-sounding names is not only significantly reduced, but almost eliminated — hinting at the potential of social media information that breaks with prevailing stereotypes to reduce (statistical) discrimination.

• Somebody that I want to know: The non-monotonic effect of personality information on ethnic and gender discrimination in the market for shared housing (with Christian Manger)
  Journal of Housing Economics (2022)
  Abstract: We conducted a correspondence test to identify the determinants and extent of ethnic discrimination in the market for shared housing in Germany. We establish a link between information about an applicant’s personality and her performance in the housing market. About 2,000 fictitious applications with randomly assigned German-, or Turkish-sounding, female or male names, with or without additional personality information were sent to vacant room ads. While the callback rate for German-sounding names is 52 percent, it drops to 37 percent for Turkish-sounding names. Female applicants receive significantly more callbacks than their male counterparts. Additional personality information is particularly beneficial to the group with the highest callback rate (German females) and the group with the lowest callback rate (Turkish males). Thus, personality information reduce the ethnic gap between Turkish and German males, whereas the gap among females increases. A simple theoretical model shows that the strong effect of information on German females can be explained by aggregation over rooms that differ in market tightness. Moreover, advertisers who only accept applications of one particular gender discriminate significantly more against Turkish applicants.

Working Papers

• All Hat and No Cattle? ESG Incentives in Executive Compensation  (with Matthias Efing, Stefanie Ehmann & Patrick Kampkötter)
  Abstract: This paper examines the integration of ESG performance metrics into executive compensation using a detailed panel dataset of European executives. Despite becoming more widespread, most ESG metrics are largely discretionary, carry immaterial weights in payout calculations, and contribute little to executive pay risk. Such ESG metrics with arguably weak incentive power are common in financial firms and large companies, particularly for their most visible executives, which seems consistent with greenwashing. In contrast, binding ESG metrics with significant weights, which have potential to influence incentives, are only found in sectors with a large environmental footprint.
  [CESifo Working Paper No. 11407 / HEC Paris Research Paper No. FIN-2024-1506]
  [CLS Blue Sky Blog Post]
  [News Coverage: Wirtschaftswoche (Nov 22), RSE Data News (Nov 18), Transforming Economies (Feb 19)]

Work in Progress

• The Visual Narrative: Stereotypes, Unequal Treatment, and Informal Networks (with Christian Manger & Kerstin Pull)
  Abstract: Stereotypes and biases against minorities perpetuate long-lasting inequality. We investigate how visual stereotypes on social media affect ethnic discrimination in the formation of informal social networks and the informal housing market. Using two field experiments, we examine the effects of social media profiles that either contradict or conform to ethnic minority stereotypes. In Study I, we send about 1,000 friend requests from fictitious social media profiles to suggested users to analyze how ethnicity and visual stereotypes affect informal social network formation. In Study II, we apply to about 3,100 vacant rooms to study the same effects for potential roommates, linking online self-representation to offline economic inequality. Our findings reveal a 46\% lower friend acceptance rate and a 61\% lower callback rate for minority members. Additionally, minority profiles with stereotypical photos are 69\% less likely to be accepted as friends and 71\% less likely considered as potential roommates. Visual stereotypes negatively impact both friend acceptance and callback rates for all ethnic groups, but are significantly more detrimental for minority applicants. Our findings highlight that inequalities in informal settings and markets remain largely unaddressed. [Status: Under Review at European Economic Review]

  • AEA RCT Registry (#11322 and #13574)

• Information Salience & Ethnic Discrimination (with Christian Manger & Kerstin Pull)
  Abstract: This paper investigates whether enhancing the salience of an application can mitigate or exacerbate ethnic discrimination. We conduct a randomized field experiment in the German housing market, sending 4,270 fictitious applications to vacant room ads over two experimental waves. Three key dimensions are randomly varied: (1) ethnicity; (2) the presence or absence of visual minority stereotypes on a linked social media profile; and (3) whether the applicant subscribes to a premium service that highlights and ranks the application near the top of the advertiser's inbox. Results show that although premium status slightly increases callbacks for both minority and majority applicants, it does not eliminate the persistent and significant minority penalty. Moreover, the ethnic gap persists irrespectively of social media information. In addition, we find that a one-position-decrease in inbox rank reduces the probability of receiving a callback by 0.27 percentage points. Lower salience penalizes all applicants, but disproportionately affect minority applicants. Overall, the findings highlight that attention-based mechanisms and increased salience do not significantly affect ethnic discrimination. [Status: Preparing for Submission]

  • AEA RCT Registry (#11322 and #14294)

• How Social Media Personality Cues Affect Selection Decisions: Evidence From Two Large-Scale Field Experiments (with Kerstin Pull & Sonja Utz)
  Abstract: Experimental research has shown that people infer personality traits from social media profiles. However, field evidence on how social media-based personality cues affect real-world decisions remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted two large-scale field experiments and causally identified the effects of social media cues, systematically manipulating (1) the agreeableness and emotional stability of a fictitious profile owner and (2) their conscientiousness. In Experiment 1, we sent friend requests from fictitious Instagram accounts to approximately 1,000 Instagram users and measured acceptance rates. In Experiment 2, we applied to around 2,800 vacant rooms on a shared housing platform, linking the fictitious Instagram accounts to the applications, and tracked callback rates. Profiles signaling high agreeableness and emotional stability received significantly more acceptances and callbacks than those signaling low levels of agreeableness and emotional stability. The differences between high and low conscientiousness were not statistically significant. [Status: Under Review at New Media & Society]

  • AEA RCT Registry (#12473 and #13359)