Speaker: Simon Calmar Andersen, Professor, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University and  Jakob Majlund Holm, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University

Abstract:

A substantial number of studies show that street level bureaucrats discriminate among their clients, restricting access to welfare services for minority groups. While most solutions are found in anti-discrimination policies, we argue that public organizations themselves could hold a key to reducing discrimination behavior. More specifically, we test the idea that public managers could encourage street level bureaucrats to provide services more evenly among different social groups. With a field experiment among Danish pre-schools, we illustrate this idea empirically. In the active-control group, non-ethnic Danish children participates substantially less than ethnic Danish children in an evidence-based program. We provide pre-school managers in the treatment-group with various tools to engage in the implementation process, which closes the gap in program-participation between ethnic- and non-ethnic Danish children.

If you are not a CEPDISC fellow and wish to join this seminar please contact maj.carlsen@ps.au.dk 
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