Understanding hiring discrimination against disabled people in the UK

Disabled people represent more than 20% of the UK working-age population. They face some of the most enduring labour market disadvantage of all protected groups. Indeed, the disability employment gap (DEG) at nearly 30 percentage points is a significant policy concern. Despite analysis of the determinants of the DEG using secondary data (for example, Jones, 2006) questions remain as to the role of employer discrimination. Further, these studies are unable to explore the nature of such discrimination. In applying established experimental methods, particularly correspondence studies (see Neumark, 2018) this PhD aims to quantify and better understand disability-related discrimination in hiring.