Measuring Priors against Arabic-Named Job Applicants: A Field Experiment ⁄

We examine how much more work experience is needed to eliminate call-back gaps between groups. To assess the gap between job candidates with Swedish and Arabic names, employers are first sent CVs of equal merits. Arabic-named CVs are then enhanced with more work experience to measure the strength of negative employer priors. The call-back gap disappears for female applicants with enhanced CVs but remains strong and significant for male applicants despite enhanced CVs. Negative priors against male job applicants with Arabic names are therefore substantial while priors against Arabic-Named female applicants are small enough to be compensated with more labor market experience.