Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Alfonso Miranda
Author-Email: alfonso.miranda@cide.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: Applied Economics Division, CIDE, Mexico.
Author-Name: Daniel Zizumbo-Colunga
Author-Workplace-Name: Secretarıa de Ciencia, Humanidades, Technologıa e Innovacion (SECIHTI) 
Author-Name: Adriana Aguilar-Rodriguez
Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Research in Geo-spacial Information Science (CentroGeo), Mexico. 
Author-Name: Jaime Sainz-Santamaria
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Social Sciences and Government, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. 
Title: Discriminating attitudes, employment decisions, and wage setting at the workplace: evidence from experimental vignettes in a developing country
Abstract: Objective: We study how a worker’s personal demographic characteristics affect wage setting and employment decisions  among  the  personnel  of  a  random  sample  of  Mexico City’s service sector firms. Methodology: We use experimental vignettes and multivariate regression analysis. Results: Net of an explicit productivity measure, we find a discriminatory employment penalty of 11% from Central and south America workers. There is also a penalty for workers with asymmetric faces of 9% that is present only when operatives take firing decisions. For wages, we find a wage penalty for workers with asymmetric faces of 2.6% in the operatives sample but not significant effect inthe managers’ sample. Originality: A novel experimental vignettes design is used for analysis. Conclusions: There is compelling evidence that wage setting and employment dismissal decisions are affected by discriminatory attitudes/prejudices in Mexico City’s service sector.
Classification-JEL: J71, J31.
Keywords: discrimination attitudes, wage setting, Mexico.
Journal: Econoquantum
Pages: 29-62
Volume: 23
Issue: 2	 
Year: 2026
Month: July - December
File-URL: https://econoquantum.cucea.udg.mx/index.php/EQ/article/view/7386/6875
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-URL: https://econoquantum.cucea.udg.mx/index.php/EQ/issue/view/711
Handle: RePEc:qua:journl:v:23:y:2026:i:2:p:29-62