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Article
The Use and Misuse of Econometric Evidence in Employment Discrimination Cases
Washington & Lee Law Review
  • Joni Hersch
  • Blair Druhan Bullock
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Keywords
  • employment discrimination,
  • regression analysis,
  • expert witness,
  • econometrics,
  • Title VII,
  • peer review
Abstract

Experts routinely criticize three aspects of regression analyses presented by the opposing party in employment discrimination cases: omitted explanatory variables, sample size, and statistical significance. However, these factors affect the reliability of the regression results only in very limited circumstances. As a result, valid regression analyses do not provide the critical guidance that they should in employment discrimination cases. Our own statistical analyses of seventy-eight Title VII employment discrimination cases find that merely raising these critiques, even if spurious, reduces plaintiffs’ likelihood of prevailing at trial. We propose that courts adopt a peer-review system in which court-appointed economists, compensated by each party as a percentage of the total payment to econometric expert witnesses, review econometric evidence before the reports are submitted to the judge or jury.

Citation Information
Joni Hersch and Blair Druhan Bullock. "The Use and Misuse of Econometric Evidence in Employment Discrimination Cases" Washington & Lee Law Review Vol. 71 (2014) p. 2365 ISSN: 0043-0463
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/joni-hersch/6/