Labor Market Discrimination in Lima, Peru: Evidence from a Field Experiment

SummaryWe analyze labor discrimination in Peru, a fast-growing country where much anecdotal evidence suggests the presence of discriminatory practices in everyday life. Using surnames (indigenous/white) as a proxy for race, we sent 4820 fictitious CVs in response to 1205 real job vacancies for professional, technical, and unskilled jobs in Lima. Overall, whites receive more callbacks than indigenous applicants, and beautiful applicants receive more callbacks than homely-looking ones. The magnitude and significance of the racial and beauty gaps in callbacks substantially vary by job category. In particular, better looks only seem to matter in getting more callbacks for professional jobs.