Ethan O'Leary

I am a 4th year PhD Research Scholar at the Department of Economics in the Norwegian School of Economics affiliated to The Choice Lab at the FAIR research institute. I am supervised by Erik Ø. Sørensen (NHH) and Sebastian Schweighofer-Kodritsch (Universität Leipzig).

My research is in the fields of behavioural economics, microeconomic theory, and labour economics. I am interested in studying the role of misspecified beliefs and models in the persistence of discrimination and inequality.

Prior to joining the Norwegian School of Economics, I obtained an MSc from the Stockholm School of Economics and a BSc from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, both in Economics.

I will be on the Economics Job Market in the 2026/2027 cycle.

You can see my CV here and email me with ethan.oleary [at] nhh.no.

(Mis)anticipated Discrimination

(Job Market Paper)

I theoretically propose and experimentally test for a novel mechanism through which discrimination persists: the misperception of statistical discrimination as taste-based discrimination. Key points from the theory and experiment results:

1. When discrimination comes from an ambiguous source, individuals overestimate the probability that it comes from a taste-based discriminator: they misattribute the source of discrimination.
2. Misattribution leads to discrimination traps: the more likely one believes the employer is a taste-based discriminator the lower (higher) the average productivity of applicants from the discriminated (favoured) group (see graph). This application behaviour rationalises statistical discrimination and hiring outcomes do not challenge the misattribution.
3. Misattribution has indirect effects on discrimination persistence. The more likely one believes the employer is a taste-based discriminator, the more unfair one perceives the labour market and the lower one's demand for temporary affirmative action - a policy that would re-coordinate the market out of statistical discrimination.

Where have we met?

Upcoming

• 6th Discrimination and Diversity Workshop, Online - September 2026

Past

• EEA-ESEM, Dublin - August 2026
• 2nd Berlin Micro Theory & Behavioural Economics Conference, Berlin - July 2026
• The Chicago School in Experimental Economics, Osaka - June 2026
• 3rd Workshop in Behavioural Economics, Sheffield – June 2026
• Young Economists Meeting, Brno – May 2026

Before 2026... [+]