Persistence of Discrimination : Theory and Experimental Evidence

Why does discrimination persist when there is evidence that discriminatory bias can be overcome? I answer this question with a novel application of contest theory and provide experimental evidence. I show that a favored candidate's threat of losing privilege is more salient than an unfavored candidate's opportunity of overcoming bias in a repeated competition. My findings reveal that reducible and reversible biases cause the favored candidate to increase their effort significantly more than the unfavored candidate unless the unfavored candidate cares sufficiently more about the future. Discrimination persists even when bias can be overcome due to the favored candidate's resistance to change