Can information help Lakisha and Jamal find housing? Evidence from a low-cost online experiment of landlords

Judson Murchie, Jindong Pang and David J. Schwegman

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2021, vol. 90, issue C

Abstract: Since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the federal government, as well as local and state governments and non-profit organizations, have attempted to eliminate housing discrimination by enforcing fair housing laws. This strategy, however, requires prospective tenants to actively report discrimination. In this paper, we conduct a randomized field experiment to examine if being sent a public service announcement (PSA) about fair housing laws affects a landlord's propensity to discriminate against prospective black tenants in the early stages of the rental housing process. We find landlords who are sent a PSA are more likely to respond to black clients one day and one week after treatment, though the effect appears to dissipate quickly.

Keywords: Housing discrimination; Field experiment; Correspondence audit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 J15 J16 R31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regeco:v:90:y:2021:i:c:s0166046221000727

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103712

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