Application of Anti-Discrimination Law in the Field of Labor and Employment in the Republic of Serbia: The Economic Analysis of Law Approach

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the problem of labor market discrimination through the methodology of economic analysis of law, as a special discipline, as well as the doctrinal approach, focusing on the legislative framework in the concrete filed in the Republic of Serbia. The main research question is do we really need anti-discrimination law in the field of labor and employment, or we can use only free market mechanisms to eliminate employers who discriminate employees who are in the labor market and/or the labor force which pretend to enter the market. Economic analysis of law starts from the premise that employers are rational players at the market who want to maximize their profits, and the only important thing is the productivity of employees, not their personal characteristics which do not affect their labor performance (productivity). Although this reasoning sounds rational, we witness that discrimination in the labor market has been persisting and governments intervene with anti-discrimination legislation and public policies, as well as special institutional solutions, trying to suppress it and support economic development and social inclusion of marginalized social groups. The author’s special attention in the paper is on the two economic models of discrimination, Becker’s Taste for Discrimination and Statistical Discrimination Model, which will explain the necessity of anti-discrimination law in the field of labor and employment. Concurrently, the focus will be on the Serbian legal framework and the importance of the impact assessment, as a tool for improving the quality of legislation and policies in the concept of the respect the principle of equality and non-discrimination.