Multidimensional Discrimination in the Online Rental Housing Market: Implications for Families With Young Children

Jacob W. Faber , New York University (NYU)
Marie-Dumesle Mercier, New York University (NYU)

A half century after the Fair Housing Act, research continues to document the persistence of racial discrimination in the housing market. While the prevalence of overt racism has declined, exclusionary practices continue to limit housing opportunity for people of color. This study leverages an online field experiment in 31 cities to investigate the extent to which discrimination by race is exacerbated by family structure and source of income. Consistent with prior work, we find that blacks and Latinas face discrimination in the search for rental housing. We further show that the gap between white and non-white outcomes is compounded by family structure: only blacks and Latinas are penalized for being single mothers. Our results also indicate that landlord bias against recipients of Section 8 housing vouchers may be stronger than racial biases. Finally, we provide evidence that state and local laws prohibiting discrimination against voucher recipients may be effective.

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 Presented in Session 221. Housing, Homelessness, and Child/Youth Well-being