Multilevel Pathways for Integrating Marginalized Groups

Inequality and exclusion have major economic and social costs. Scholars and policymakers are thus urged to address this grand challenge and find ways to integrate marginalized groups. This project centers on pathways for integrating ex-felons and refugees into the labor market and broader society. We study solutions directed at individuals, communities, and firms. First, we assess when entrepreneurship the act of founding or joining a startup firm can be a vehicle of
socioeconomic mobility for individuals with criminal records. Second, we gauge how host communities enable refugee resettlement depending on their ethnic interconnectedness and organizational fabric. Third, we uncover obstacles to the recruitment of ex-felons and refugees, and examine how hiring members of these groups may affect firms value creation and value capture. The project leverages unique Danish register data and experimental evidence. The
findings will have key implications for theory, practice, and policy.