Home / Lectures / Kylie Jiwon Hwang, Northwestern University
The Role of Young Firms as Employers of Marginalized Workers
Kylie Jiwon Hwang, Northwestern University
Description
Semester:
- Fall 2026
Speakers:
Drake Scholar
Lecture Time:
Fri, December 11, 2026 @ 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Lecture Location:
R2240, Ross building
Speaker Webpage(s):
Introduced By:
TBD
Abstract
Young firms have long been known to be important drivers of job creation, yet little is known about how and who these firms hire. We provide new evidence that they are disproportionate employers of a largely “unemployable” group: individuals with criminal records. Using administrative data on U.S. workers, firms, and the criminal justice system, we show that young firms struggle to compete for labor against established firms and subsequently hire disproportionately from people with criminal records. Following a criminal conviction, a worker becomes 21% more likely to take a job at a young firm. We show this pattern reflects firm-side constraints rather than worker or young firm preferences: young firms conduct fewer background checks and draw from a residual pool of workers that established firms have screened out. Consistent with this mechanism, sorting is substantially stronger for heavily stigmatized offenses, weaker in tight labor markets where established firms lower their screening standards, and weaker under Ban-the-Box policies that restrict established firms’ ability to screen. Using a Bartik instrument, we show that counties with more jobs at young firms see higher employment rates for workers with criminal records but no change in recidivism, suggesting these jobs expand labor market access for these workers, but may not produce the stability needed to deter re-offending.
Recording & Additional Notes
No recordings available.
Kylie Hwang is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations. Her research examines how businesses can alleviate the systemic inequality that marginalized populations face in the labor market and in society at large. In particular, can entrepreneurship be a pathway for marginalized groups to overcome labor market discrimination and achieve economic and social integration? What are the barriers and setbacks of entrepreneurial engagement for marginalized group members? Much of her current work focuses on marginalized groups such as justice-impacted individuals, racial minorities, and people with disabilities in the United States. Her research primarily adopts a quantitative method approach using restricted administrative and survey data, and incorporates qualitative in-depth interviews and experiments.
Professor Hwang’s research has been published in leading journals such as American Journal of Sociology, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and Research in Organizational Behavior. Her work has also been featured in a testimony to the US Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and popular press outlets such as the Washington Post, Forbes, CitySCOPE Podcast, and Columbia Business School Ideas at Work.
Professor Hwang earned her PhD in Management from Columbia Business School, and a dual Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics, summa cum laude, from Seoul National University. Prior to joining Kellogg, she was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford Graduate School of Business.