Is hiding my first name enough? Using behavioural interventions to mitigate racial and gender discrimination in the rental housing market

Helen XH Bao

Urban Studies, 2024, vol. 61, issue 11, 2156-2175

Abstract: This study investigates whether behavioural interventions can reduce racial and gender discrimination in the rental housing market. In our correspondence tests, we incorporated two specific behavioural interventions: providing employment details to assist letting agents in overcoming statistical discrimination and incorporating anti-discrimination messages to encourage adherence to the ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ social norm. Although these strategies notably influenced the likelihood of prospective renters receiving responses to their housing inquiries, the outcomes were not consistent across genders or ethnic groups and were not always positive. Racial and gender discrimination in housing markets is a complex issue. There are no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions when using behavioural tools to address complex social problems such as racial and gender discrimination. Behavioural interventions demand rigorous field testing prior to widespread adoption.

Keywords: behavioural policy interventions; implicit bias; housing decisions; labour mobility; nudge; 行为政策干预; éš æ€§å è§; ä½ æˆ¿å†³ç­–; åŠ³åŠ¨åŠ›æµ åŠ¨; 助推 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:61:y:2024:i:11:p:2156-2175

DOI: 10.1177/00420980241231712

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