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Are lesbians discriminated against in the rental housing market? Evidence from a correspondence testing experiment

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  • Ahmed, Ali M.
  • Andersson, Lina
  • Hammarstedt, Mats

Abstract

This paper presents a field experiment, conducted over the Internet, studying possible discrimination against lesbians in the rental housing market in Sweden. We let two fictitious couples, one heterosexual and one lesbian, apply for vacant rental apartments advertised by landlords on the Internet. We then investigated whether there were differences between the couples in the number of received call-backs, invitations to further contact, and invitations to immediate showings. Our findings show no indication of differential treatment of lesbians by landlords. A discussion relating to earlier findings is provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed, Ali M. & Andersson, Lina & Hammarstedt, Mats, 2008. "Are lesbians discriminated against in the rental housing market? Evidence from a correspondence testing experiment," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 234-238, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:17:y:2008:i:3:p:234-238
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Ali M. Ahmed & Mats Hammarstedt, 2009. "Detecting Discrimination against Homosexuals: Evidence from a Field Experiment on the Internet," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(303), pages 588-597, July.
    11. Ahmed, Ali M. & Hammarstedt, Mats, 2008. "Sexual Orientation and Earnings in Sweden," Working Papers in Economics 285, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 01 Sep 2005.
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