Discrimination and segregation in the rental housing market in Delhi

Last registered on January 28, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Discrimination and segregation in the rental housing market in Delhi
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017735
Initial registration date
January 21, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 28, 2026, 6:57 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Hamza Mohammad Syed
Affiliation
London School of Economics and Political Science
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2026-01-21
End date
2026-03-31
Keywords
Behavior, Other, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Housing, discrimination, segregation
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
How do discrimination and segregation have an effect on how urban spaces are developed? Does residential segregation affect belief polarisation? The segregation that we look at, when it comes to cities in developing countries, are the movements in and out of slums as people’s incomes grow (Marx, Stoker and Suri, 2013). If we add discrimination to the equation, even a well-off but discriminated-against population might be forced to live in a ghetto-like situation because they cannot get accommodation elsewhere. This segregation, especially for minorities, affects their access to public services and imposes several direct and indirect costs on them. We can view discrimination and segregation as a cycle, whereby if people perceive discrimination to be high and if they are denied rental housing because of discrimination, they might end up living in segregated localities. And if segregation increases, people will interact less and this will lead to more polarisation and discrimination.
The study uses a combination of theory, survey experiments, novel data on locality wise amenities to understand the link between discrimination and segregation.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Syed, Hamza Mohammad. 2026. "Discrimination and segregation in the rental housing market in Delhi." AEA RCT Registry. January 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17735-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In this project, I'm using a survey experiment to parse out taste-based vs statistical discrimination against Muslims in the housing market in Delhi. Respondents will be shown randomized profiles of prospective tenants. There will be three randomized groups of respondents: A - profiles with predominantly Hindu sounding names; B - profiles with same characteristics as A but more Muslim sounding names; C - same profiles as B but with additional information about tenant reliability and police verification, etc. The difference in acceptance rates between groups A and B will give us a measure of total discrimination. The difference between groups B and C will give us a measure of statistical discrimination. Deducting statistical discrimination from total discrimination will give us a measure of taste-based discrimination. My expectation for Delhi is that taste-based discrimination against Muslims is higher than statistical discrimination. And total discrimination against Muslimsis higher than Hindus.
I will also be using a public goods game and an area choice game to get stated preferences for area types both as a planned and as a tenant. We are also testing these results for areas which have a history of conflict vs areas which don't. We are expecting to find higher levels of discrimination in the areas that have a history of conflict.
Another component is a broker survey, treating them as experts, to map out the probability of finding a house for different identities in localities across Delhi.
Intervention Start Date
2026-01-21
Intervention End Date
2026-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
total discrimination, taste-based discrimination, statistical discrimination
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
locality preferences, amenity preferences, probability of finding a house
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Stratified random sampling of localities in Delhi is done based on the religious mix of the locality and geographical spread. Within these localities, random starting locations are selected within the residential areas and then every 5th house is surveyed. The profiles are randomized across areas and respondents.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Stratified randomisation at locality-resident level for resident survey; stratified randomisation at pincode-broker level for broker survey
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
72 localities and 74 pincodes
Sample size: planned number of observations
3200 residents and 600 brokers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
18 localities in each strata - only temples, only mosques, mix of both, neither
1066 respondents in benchmark/control group, 1066 respondents in treatment 1, 1066 respondents in treatment 2
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
LSE Research Ethics Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2025-09-15
IRB Approval Number
193409
Analysis Plan