Data from: Awareness programs and change in taste-based caste prejudice

Becker's theory of taste-based discrimination predicts that relative employment of the discriminated social group will improve if there is a decrease in the level of prejudice for the marginally discriminating employer. In this paper we experimentally test this prediction offered by Garry Becker in his seminal work on taste based discrimination, in the context of caste in India, with management students (potential employers in the near future) as subjects. First, we measure caste prejudice and show that awareness through a TV social program reduces implicit prejudice against the lower caste and the reduction is sustained over time. Second, we find that the treatment reduces the prejudice levels of those in the left tail of the prejudice distribution - the group which can potentially affect real outcomes as predicted by the theory. And finally, a larger share of the treatment group subjects exhibit favorable opinion about reservation in jobs for the lower caste.

加里·贝克尔（Gary Becker）的口味歧视理论（taste-based discrimination）预测：若边际歧视雇主的偏见程度降低，则受歧视社会群体的相对就业水平将得到改善。本文以印度种姓制度为研究语境，以管理专业学生（未来潜在雇主）作为实验被试，对贝克尔在其关于口味歧视理论的开创性研究中提出的上述预测开展实验检验。第一，我们测量了种姓偏见水平，证实借助电视社会节目开展的宣传教育能够降低针对低种姓群体的内隐偏见，且该偏见消减效应具有长期持续性。第二，我们发现该干预措施降低了偏见分布左尾群体的偏见水平——正如该理论所预测的，这类群体能够对现实结果产生潜在影响。第三，干预组中有更高比例的被试对低种姓群体的工作岗位预留政策持支持态度。