The Price of Prejudice
Written by: Morten Hedegaard and Jean-Robert Tyran
The paper presents the results of an experiment in which a number of high school students with Danish and Muslim names were recruited to put letters in envelopes, paid on a piecework basis. They were to work in pairs, and could choose to work with a person of the same or a different ethnic origin as their own. They could earn more if they worked together with a person of a different ethnic background. How many would elect to discriminate according to ethnicity in such a situation?
Related publications

Research report
Immigration and Welfare State Cash Benefits – The Danish Case
Go to research report
Research report
A panel study of immigrant poverty dynamics and income mobility – Denmark, 1984-2007
Go to research reportLatest releases on the same welfare topic

Knowledge overview
Black market work is done by one in five Danes and costs the state billions
October 2025

Research report
Estimates of the Shadow Economy in Denmark
October 2025

Research report
Undeclared Work in Denmark 2021: Extent, Characteristics, and Lost Tax Revenue
October 2025

Comment
Researcher: The tender model has eroded the elderly’s right to choose private care
September 2025