Is Hiding My First Name Enough? Using Behavioural Interventions To Mitigate Racial and Gender Discrimination in the Rental Housing Market, 2021-2022

The data was collected from the London rental housing market between 2021 and 2022. Racial and gender biases are pervasive in housing markets. Males and ethnic minorities face discrimination in rental housing markets globally. The issue has been so pronounced that it regularly makes national and international headlines. In response to a racial discrimination lawsuit, Airbnb had to hide guests’ first names from rental hosts in Oregon, USA, starting in January 2022. Yet, there is little evidence that such measurement effectively counteracts racial and gender discrimination in housing markets. Despite some well-established theoretical models developed more than half a century ago and a wealth of empirical evidence accumulated over the last two decades, studies examining effective solutions to combat discrimination remain sparse especially in housing markets. Given the complexity of the products and services involved and the relatively low frequency of transactions, nuanced studies are needed to understand how implicit racial and gender biases influence letting decisions. This study investigates housing discrimination at the intersection where longstanding market behaviours meet the evolving insights of behavioural research. Although behavioural interventions have the potential to address both statistical and taste-based discrimination in the housing market, their successful implementation remains a challenge. Given the persistent biases and socio-economic dynamics in the housing market, interventions must be carefully tailored to the context. By collecting evidence from field experiments, this research aims to gain insights into how real-world behavioural interventions can be effectively designed and implemented. Our focus remains twofold: to develop a robust theoretical framework and to translate its insights into tangible, impactful policy recommendations, with the ultimate goal of fostering a more inclusive housing market.