Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/263565 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 15349
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
To study hiring discrimination against cancer survivors, we conduct a vignette experiment in which American and British recruiters evaluate fictitious job candidates. Candidates differed by periods of non-employment in their career, including non-employment due to suffering from cancer. We study the effect of cancer experiences on the recruiters' hiring decisions, as well as its effect on underlying candidate perceptions, related to various potential forms of stigma identified in the literature. We find that employment opportunities are lower for candidates with a history of cancer, compared to candidates without such a gap. This penalty is particularly explained by perceptions that these candidates will have higher sick leave probabilities and create additional costs. However, relative to candidates with a comparable gap due to depression or personal reasons, former cancer patients are less stigmatised, with relatively favourable assessments of their emotional abilities, social abilities, motivation and positive impact on workplace culture.
Subjects: 
hiring discrimination
cancer
depression
signalling
JEL: 
I10
I12
J70
J71
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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