Debiasing Discriminators: Evidence from the Introduction of Neutral Umpires

Abstract

This paper shows that decision-makers are less biased in the presence of a neutral colleague. We com- pile data on umpiring decisions from international cricket matches and analyze reforms which mandated the introduction of neutral umpires. Prior to the reforms, both on-field umpires are from the host country and make more discretionary calls against the foreign team. Requiring one of the two on-field umpires to be from a neutral country eliminates this bias. Host country umpires are less partial toward the home team when paired with a neutral umpire. Collectively, our results suggest that social pressure from colleagues can discipline discriminators.

Keywords: Discrimination, Referees, Career Concerns, Neutrality, Cricket

JEL Classification: J71, J15, K42