Giovanni Busetta

Immigrants and Italian labor market: statistical or taste-based discrimination?

Types of discrimination are usually distinguished by economic theory in statistical and taste-based. Using a correspondence experiment, we analyze which of the two affects Italian labor market the most. In this respect, we studied the difference in discrimination reserved to first- and second-generation immigrants, taking gender differences into account. Even if we want to admit a rational discrimination based on perceived productivity differences (statistical discrimination) against first-generation immigrants (concerning language and education gaps), the same would not be reasonable for second-generation ones. Since they are born and educated in Italy, where they have always lived, the associated discrimination must be taste-based.Subject classification codesC93, J71, J15

Labor Productivity and Okun's Law: An Empirical Application to Italian Regional Panel Data

Okuns law, named for its proposer, Arthur Okun, was first applied during the 1960s in the USA to describe the relationship between economic growth and unemployment fluctuations. Several attempts were later made to test the empirical applicability of the relationship to different countries and historical periods. Heterogeneous results were generally found in estimating Okuns coefficient, depending on the sample and context analysed. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the relevance of Okuns law to Italian regions. We perform a panel analysis to estimate the influence of asymmetry and local market differences on Okuns relationship. Moreover, observing particularly low values of participation rate in labor markets in southern areas, we propose other indicators to estimate Okuns coefficient which are more compatible with a delayed development area.

Searching for a Job is a Beauty Contest

The paper deals with the impact of beauty on employability of people, stressing the first stage of the hiring process. In particular, we studied if there exists a preference for attractive candidates and if it does whether it depends on sex, physical features and racial characteristics. We monitored all relevant agencies offering jobs in Italy from August 2011 to September 2012 sending 11008 CVs to 1542 advertised job openings. To do so, we construct fake CVs and we sent the same CV 8 times, changing only name and surname, address, and the photo included. In particular, we sent 4 CVs with photo of an attractive and unattractive man and women, and 4 CVs without photo of an Italian and a foreign men and women to each job opening. Callbacks rates are statistically significant higher for attractive women and men than unattractive ones. Racial discrimination appears to be statistically relevant, but less than discrimination based on the physical features, especially for women.