Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Subtle Discrimination In The Rental Housing Market: Evidence From E-Mail Correspondence Of Landlords, Andrew Hanson, Zackary Hawley, Aryn Taylor

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

We find that landlords practice subtle discrimination in the rental housing market through the use of language associated with describing and viewing a unit, inviting further correspondence, making a formal greeting, and using polite language when replying to e-mail inquiries from a white name more often than to an African American name, they also send longer e-mails and respond quicker to white names.