Does Where You Go Matter? Audit Study of High School Diplomas and Labor Market Outcomes

• In Event: High School and Beyond: Social, Institutional, and Financial Contexts

Abstract

We conducted an audit study to examine whether a job applicant’s educational background affects his/her chances of getting a call-back for a job interview. In particular, we focused on the racial composition and academic selectivity of an applicant’s high school. We also examined whether these school characteristics interacted with the race of our job applicant. We found that applicants who graduated from predominantly black high school were less likely to receive a callback than applicants from mixed high schools. Surprisingly, applicants from less selective high schools were actually more likely to receive a call back than students from a college prep school. Finally, the racial composition of a high school only affected white students’ chances of getting a callback.

Authors

• William Carbonaro, University of Notre Dame

• Jonathan D. Schwarz, University of Notre Dame