Good Jobs, Good Tenants? Field Evidence of Racial and Gender Discrimination in the UK’s Housing Market

Abstract

Housing discrimination hinders labour mobility and economic equality. The level of housing discrimination has not been significantly reduced over recent decades, with notable issues in less diverse countries, especially former colonial powers. We studied London's rental housing market, where ethnic minorities face barriers and housing is unaffordable. An analytical framework based on the taste-based and statistical discrimination theory was developed to investigate the nature of housing discrimination. Blue-collar and white-collar employment information was included in the correspondence test to differentiate between taste-based and statistical discrimination. Our findings indicate UK's racial discrimination is primarily taste-based, and providing job information doesn't bridge the racial gap. Addressing this requires government and societal efforts, emphasizing inclusive urban policies that influence how individuals perceive and interact with different ethnicities.

Keywords: labour mobility, housing decisions, gender and racial discrimination, ethnic minority, correspondence test

JEL Classification: D63, J15, J16, R30