15.

034 Data Analysis For Managers

Doyle/Rigobon/Stoker

Problem SET #5 Write Up

Field Experiment Application
Experiment results have a typical form in showing the results:
Balance table: shows that the randomization worked by comparing observable
characteristics across the treatment and control groups. It seems to have worked here.
Note: the assumption is that the unobservable characteristics are not related to the
treatment indicator. If observable characteristics happen to be related to it, then it would
be a tougher sell to claim that the unobservables are balanced.
The main estimate is that the resumes with names that are common among African
Americans have a call back rate that is 3.2 percentage points lower than resumes with
names that are common among white applicants whose mean call-back rate is 9.65%.
The coefficient on years of experience is 0.0033. This means that the call back rate
increases by 3.3 percentage points with 10 years of experience. This is another way to
put the main estimate into context.
The remainder explored the resume experiment, and the results are in the accompanying
.log file.