Racial/Ethnic Perceptions from Hispanic Names: Selecting Names to Test for Discrimination

TLDR

Correspondence audit studies are widely used to detect racial/ethnic discrimination, but their validity hinges on names clearly conveying ethnicity, and few studies have pretested how respondents perceive such names. The study surveys respondents to identify the races or ethnicities they associate with various names. Participants were presented with combinations of Hispanic and Anglo first and last names to elicit their perceived racial/ethnic associations. Hispanic first names paired with Anglo last names were least likely to be identified as Hispanic, whereas all Hispanic first and last name combinations were recognized ≥90 %, indicating that weak signals can bias correspondence audit results.

Abstract

Researchers increasingly use correspondence audit studies to study racial/ethnic discrimination in employment, housing, and other domains. Although this method provides strong causal evidence of racial/ethnic discrimination, these claims depend on the signal being clearly conveyed through names. Few studies have pretested individual racial and ethnic perceptions of the names used to examine discrimination. The author conducts a survey experiment in which respondents are asked to identify the races or ethnicities they associate with a series of names. Respondents are provided with combinations of Hispanic and Anglo first and last names. Hispanic first names paired with Anglo last names are least likely to be recognized as Hispanic, while all versions of Hispanic first and last names are highly recognized (≥90 percent). The results suggest that researchers must use caution when trying to signal Hispanic ethnicity in experiments, and prior findings from correspondence audits may be biased from poor signals.