Equal Opportunity

Do employers prioritize university prestige above an applicant’s skills in the hiring process? I will present evidence from a recent study to make the case that employers in skill-intensive sectors of the labour market do not pay particular attention to university prestige when hiring for entry-level jobs. The study aimed to distinguish between the effect of skills in the hiring process from the effect of the name of the graduating university, where 2,400 fictitious applications were submitted to IT and accounting jobs in the US, UK, and Australia.

Rising housing costs put pressure on households from a wide range of incomes. Many reasons drive price increases including gentrification, developers’ monopoly power, and increasing construction costs. I study another reason – restrictions on the supply of housing. Think greenbelts that affect where units can be built, or height and density restrictions that affect what type of housing can be built. We’ll discuss my findings on the impact of supply restrictions on housing units, prices, rents and inequality in cities and how local governments can increase affordability by relaxing regulations.