Age Discrimination in Hiring Decisions:A Factorial Survey among Managers in Nine European Countries

Abstract

This article analyses old-age discrimination in managers’ hypothetical hiring decisions. We expectthat older job candidates are less likely to be hired than equally qualified younger candidates.Statistical discrimination theory argues that when recruiters have more information about the candi-date’s skills, age is less important for hiring decisions. Given inconclusive results of previous studies,we elaborate on the theory by focusing on the content rather than the amount of information. Weargue that information is primarily influential if it debunks, rather than confirms, ageist stereotypes.To test this argument, a factorial survey was conducted among 482 managers in nine European coun-tries. The findings show that older candidates indeed receive lower hireability scores, and this findingis robust across countries and sectors. However, we do not find that stereotype-rejecting informationmoderates age discrimination: it does not matter whether recruiters have information that debunks orconfirms ageist stereotypes; age is equally important in both situations. Our findings suggest that forhiring decisions, the valuation of applicants’ skills and their age are largely independent