Do Landlords Discriminate in the Rental Housing Market? Evidence from an Internent Field Experiment in U.S. Cities

Authors

Andrew Hanson, Marquette UniversityFollow
Zackary Hawley, Georgia State University

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

16 p.

Publication Date

2011

Publisher

Elsevier

Source Publication

Journal of Urban Economics

Source ISSN

0094-1190

Abstract

This paper tests for racial discrimination in the rental housing market using matched-pair audits conducted via e-mail for rental units advertised on-line. We reveal home-seekers’ race to landlords by sending e-mails from names with a high likelihood of association with either whites or African Americans. Generally, discrimination occurs against African American names; however, when the content of the e-mail messages insinuates home-seekers with high social class, discrimination is non-existent. Racial discrimination is more severe in neighborhoods that are near “tipping points” in racial composition, and for units that are part of a larger building.

Comments

Accepted version. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 70, No. 2-3 (2011): 99-114. DOI. © 2011 Elsevier. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Hanson, Andrew and Hawley, Zackary, "Do Landlords Discriminate in the Rental Housing Market? Evidence from an Internent Field Experiment in U.S. Cities" (2011). Economics Faculty Research and Publications. 198.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/econ_fac/198