The Effect of Racial Discrimination on Locational Choice in the Rental Housing Market

2018-05-21

2018-08-24

(1) Response rate by race
(2) Heterogeneity in response rate by applicant characteristics: gender, mother’s education level (high, middle, low)
(3) Heterogeneity in response rate by location attributes (pollution): particulate matter exposures, proximity to superfund sites, chemical toxics (RSEI), proximity to toxic release inventory facilities
(4) Heterogeneity in response rate by location attributes (neighborhood capital): violent crime, school quality, poverty rate, neighborhood amenities

Response time -- Duration of lapse between inquiry and response
Length of response (message)
Positive/negative sentiment of message

Our experiment utilizes a paired (tripled) experimental design.

Our experiment utilizes a paired (tripled) experimental design. Responses from property managers will be captured in email (gmail address associated with each name), phone messages (individual phone numbers associated with each name), and text messages. The time stamp, message length, and sentiment of responses will be coded. The full set of 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom rental listings will be compiled for major housing markets in the United States as this is a relevant market segment for renters with families. Other market segments may also be pursued in future trials.

The paired experimental design utilized in this study requires that inquiries for each listing are made from each of the three racial groups that we study. Immediately following compilation of the relevant listings in a given market, an inquiry will be sent for each using a randomly assigned name drawn from each of the 3 racial groups. Each rental apartment will therefore receive 3 separate inquiries in the course of an experimental trial. Listings are divided into 3 blocks to ensure that inquiries for the same listing will never be sent from two race groups on the same day. Inquiries will be sent at an interval of 2-10 minutes over the course of the 3 day period. The names and within each racial group are randomly assigned to a listing with equal probability and the sequence of inquiries is also randomly assigned.

individual real estate listing (property manager)

No

3600 listings (property managers)

3600 listings (property managers)

1200 listings White group, 1200 listings African American group, 1200 listings LatinX/Hispanic group,

Power calculations: We utilize existing apartment listing data from the same online platform in a pre-complication of listings in Los Angeles to identify the sample size requirements for statistical power. We examine the MDE for tests of differences in response rates by group as well as the MDE for differences in the particular matter exposures at the location of listings and elementary school ratings for listings in the sample. All tests presented below assume 90% test power and .05 significance level. Our power calculations indicate that for: (1) A test of differential response rates in a pre-trial in Champaign, IL yielded a 46% response rate to African American names and a 66% response rate to white names. Given a sample of 469 responses in group A (white control), 469 responses in the African American group, and 469 responses in the LatinX/Hispanic group, the MDE for a test of differences in average responses between either minority group and the white group of listing responses is 5 percentage points. Given a sample of 118 responses in group A (white control), 118 responses in the African American group, and 118 responses in the African American group, the MDE for a test of differences in average responses between either minority group and the white group of listing responses is 10 percentage points. This is also the MDE for tests of differential responses rates by gender groups and by mother’s education groups (high/medium/low). (2) Particulate matter: The distribution of particulate exposures in the rental listings sample has a mean of 12.11 and the standard deviation of 0.311. Given a sample of 542 responses in the White (non-minority) group, 542 responses in the African American group, and 542 responses in the LatinX/Hispanic group, the MDE for a test of differences in average particulate matter exposures of listing responses between any two groups is .025. Given a sample of 136 responses in the African American group, 136 responses in the LatinX/Hispanic group, and 136 responses in the African American group, the MDE for a test of differences in average particulate matter exposures of listing responses between any two groups is .05. (3) Elementary Education Ratings (Great Schools): The distribution of elementary school ratings in the rental listings sample has a mean of 4.94 and the standard deviation of 3.09. Given a sample of 201 responses in the White (non-minority) group, 201 responses in the African American group, and 201 responses in the LatinX/Hispanic group, the MDE for a test of differences in average elementary school ratings of listing responses between any two groups is .5. Given a sample of 90 responses in the African American group, 90 responses in the LatinX/Hispanic group, and 90 responses in the African American group, the MDE for a test of differences in average particulate matter exposures of listing responses between any two groups is .75.