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Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment †

Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment † Abstract In an experiment on Airbnb, we find that applications from guests with distinctively African American names are 16 percent less likely to be accepted relative to identical guests with distinctively white names. Discrimination occurs among landlords of all sizes, including small landlords sharing the property and larger landlords with multiple properties. It is most pronounced among hosts who have never had an African American guest, suggesting only a subset of hosts discriminate. While rental markets have achieved significant reductions in discrimination in recent decades, our results suggest that Airbnb's current design choices facilitate discrimination and raise the possibility of erasing some of these civil rights gains. (JEL C93, J15, L83 ) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Economic Journal: Applied Economics American Economic Association

Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment †

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Publisher
American Economic Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by the American Economic Association
Subject
Articles
ISSN
1945-7790
eISSN
1945-7790
DOI
10.1257/app.20160213
Publisher site
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Abstract

Abstract In an experiment on Airbnb, we find that applications from guests with distinctively African American names are 16 percent less likely to be accepted relative to identical guests with distinctively white names. Discrimination occurs among landlords of all sizes, including small landlords sharing the property and larger landlords with multiple properties. It is most pronounced among hosts who have never had an African American guest, suggesting only a subset of hosts discriminate. While rental markets have achieved significant reductions in discrimination in recent decades, our results suggest that Airbnb's current design choices facilitate discrimination and raise the possibility of erasing some of these civil rights gains. (JEL C93, J15, L83 )

Journal

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics – American Economic Association

Published: Apr 1, 2017

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