An economist with a background as a computer programmer can clearly get a lot done. Over the years, he has refined and reused the fictitious application method in various ways. In total, he estimates that he may have produced around 15,000 applications.
鈥淓conomics is largely based on simplified models of reality, often mathematical ones. But they can be used to analyse the problems we see around us. At the same time, we need to be aware that the models are precisely that, simplifications,鈥� he says.
Government reports
Magnus Carlsson has conducted research and worked on several government assignments and reports on discrimination. When we meet, he is preparing to present a new ESO report on the situation in the labour market situation for people with disabilities. ESO, the Expert Group on Public Economics, is an independent committee under the Ministry of Finance.
鈥淎n important part is communicating the research. Reports and assignments for the government often attract attention and can highlight the problems that exist,鈥� says Magnus Carlsson, professor of economics at Link枚ping University.
In spring 2026, he became a professor at LiU. Before joining LiU, he was at Linnaeus University. The professorship is funded by the Catharina H枚gbom and Michael Cocozza Foundation for Research and Culture in Link枚ping Municipality. The founder, Michael Cocozza, and his wife, Catharina H枚gbom, have donated a total of SEK 225 million to the foundation and, among other things, made possible the establishment of eight new professorships in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Link枚ping University.
IT-industry
Magnus Carlsson was in his mid-twenties when he entered the IT industry, just before the major dot-com crash around the turn of the millennium. The industry was crying out for programmers.
鈥淭here were only men at the company. For many of them, it was a lifestyle. You played computer games several times a day at work. I went home in the evenings, but many slept on the sofa at the office. We went on trips and there was a lot of money around. Of course, it was fun to experience. But I don鈥檛 think that kind of life suited me.鈥�
The company was developing virtual retail environments, but demand did not meet expectations. When the dot-com bubble burst, the company went bankrupt. Magnus Carlsson then decided to study economics.
鈥淚t was something of a relief. I鈥檓 quite a structured person, and life in the IT industry at the time was very unstructured. I realised almost straight away that economics was my thing! It combines mathematics with issues in society, and the mathematics was closely related to my previous background.鈥�
Programming
Since then, he has combined economics with programming and data analysis and has extensive experience of working with both experimental methods and Swedish register data. He completed his PhD at Linnaeus University in 2010.
In his studies, he sent fictitious job applications in response to real job advertisements to investigate how employers reacted.
鈥淚t takes a lot of programming to create applications, automate the sending process and receive responses from employers.鈥�
The results painted a bleak picture.
鈥淲e received the employers鈥� responses by email and mobile phone. We quickly saw that the phone linked to Erik rang considerably more often than the one linked to Mohammed.鈥�
Chances of an interview
Two out of ten applications led to an invitation for interview for the applicant with a typically Middle Eastern-sounding name. For applicants with a typically Swedish-sounding name, the corresponding figure was three out of ten.
鈥淭he probability of being invited to an interview was therefore around 50 per cent higher with a Swedish-sounding name. That is serious, because the applications were comparable and the name was the crucial difference in the experiment. At the same time, you can look at it another way and note that two out of ten were still invited to an interview.鈥�
The study attracted considerable attention both in the media and research. It was the first Swedish study to use this experimental method to investigate ethnic discrimination in recruitment and today has more than 1,000 citations according to Google Scholar. The method has since been used to study discrimination in other contexts and involving other groups, such as older people.
Together with researchers at NTNU in Trondheim and the University of Oslo, he has also used experimental methods to study how politicians assess and rank candidates from different ethnic backgrounds.
鈥淭here, we actually got a different result. Candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds were assessed more positively and ranked higher by politicians than candidates from majority backgrounds.鈥�
What can cause discrimination?
鈥淭here appear to be several explanations. Some concern prejudice and negative attitudes towards certain groups. Others involve stereotypes and uncertainty. For example, an employer may make assumptions about a person鈥檚 characteristics or abilities based on their name or age.鈥�
Discrimination is just one of several reasons why people are outside the labour market. How do you view the broader picture?
鈥淭here is considerable untapped labour potential among several groups. In our ESO report on people with disabilities, we estimate that up to 200,000 people could work if more were given the opportunity to work to the extent that they are able and with the necessary adaptations.鈥�
What can be done about this?
鈥淎n important part is communicating the research. Reports and assignments for the government often attract attention and can highlight the problems that exist. It鈥檚 also important to investigate which specific measures actually work. I鈥檝e therefore worked extensively with employers and other organisations to test different measures in practice. One example we have studied is whether employers can use job advertisements to signal that they are open to diversity and inclusion.鈥�
Interdisciplinarity and AI
Outside the window, Campus Valla is bustling with students. Magnus Carlsson looks out and explains that LiU鈥檚 interdisciplinary profile suits him well.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I鈥檝e worked throughout my research career. I find it very exciting that an interdisciplinarity approach is embedded throughout the organisation at LiU. Since I enjoy using programming in my research, I want to develop contacts with other researchers in computer science and with NAISS, the National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden.鈥�
Any new research projects on the way?
鈥淒evelopments in artificial intelligence, not least language models, are making it possible to analyse large volumes of text in new ways. The Swedish Public Employment Service has saved millions of job advertisements from Platsbanken since 2006. I鈥檓 training language models to identify the characteristics and qualifications employers are looking for and how these have changed over time. By linking the advertisements to register data, I can also study which employers impose different requirements and what this may mean for different groups in the labour market.鈥�
Do you have any tips for writing a successful application?
鈥淭ry to write so that the employer can clearly and quickly understand why your particular background is a good fit.鈥�
