Peer Pressure and Discrimination: Evidence from International Cricket

A. Nilesh Fernando, Siddharth Eapen George

The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Vol. 40, Issue 3, Nov. 2024

Abstract

Exploiting umpiring reforms in international cricket, where two umpires make independent decisions in each other's presence, this paper shows that home-team umpires are less biased when working with a neutral colleague — one who is a national of neither team. The temporary debiasing is driven by social pressure to appear impartial in front of a neutral peer.