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Get her off my screen: taste-based discrimination in a high-stakes popularity contest

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tom Lane

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This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by Oxford University Press, 2019.

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Abstract

This study tests for taste-based discrimination in a high-stakes popularity contest. Data is taken from audience voting in six countries on the reality television show Big Brother, a setting where statistical discrimination can play no role. The audience votes as to which contestants remain on the show, the winner of which earns a large cash prize; I test the grounds on which voters discriminate, whether by gender, race, or age. Results show a striking taste for discrimination against women: being female makes an eligible contestant significantly more likely to lose an audience vote in five of the seven versions of Big Brother analysed. There is also evidence of a taste for discrimination against non-white contestants amongst audiences in Germany, Italy and the UK. However, little support is found for taste-based age discrimination. I present evidence that the levels of discrimination identified are robust to differences in the types of contestant appearing on Big Brother.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Lane T

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Oxford Economic Papers

Year: 2019

Volume: 71

Issue: 3

Pages: 548-563

Print publication date: 01/07/2019

Online publication date: 21/02/2019

Acceptance date: 01/02/2019

Date deposited: 05/09/2023

ISSN (electronic): 1464-3812

Publisher: Oxford University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpy069

DOI: 10.1093/oep/gpy069

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