IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v39y2007i9p2139-2166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Race, Gender, and Statistical Representation: Predatory Mortgage Lending and the US Community Reinvestment Movement

Author

Listed:
  • Elvin K Wyly

    (Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada)

  • Mona Atia

    (Department of Geography, University of Washington, Box 353550, Smith Hall 408, Seattle, WA 98195, USA)

  • Elizabeth Lee
  • Pablo Mendez

Abstract

American mortgage markets, once arenas of discrimination by exclusion, now operate as venues of segmentation and discrimination by inclusion: credit is widely available, but its terms vary enormously. One market segment involves sophisticated predatory practices in which certain groups of borrowers are targeted for high-cost credit that strips out home equity and worsens the risks of delinquency, default, and foreclosure. Unfortunately, it has become more difficult to measure inequalities of predatory lending: race–ethnicity and gender are ‘disappearing’ from the main public data source used to study, organize, and mobilize on issues of lending inequalities. In this paper, we present a mixed-methods case study of statistical representation of homeowners and homebuyers marginalized by race, ethnicity, and gender. A theoretical examination of official data-collection practices is followed by a discussion of alternative meanings of racial–ethnic and gender nondisclosure. Interviews with a sample of homeowners and homebuyers in the Washington, DC, area reveal some respondent ambivalence about the details of data-collection practices, but provide no consistent support for the idea that nonreporting is solely a matter of individual choice. Econometric analyses indicate that nondisclosure is driven primarily by lending-industry practices, with the strongest disparate impacts in African-American suburbs. Predatory lending is producing ambivalent spaces of racial-ethnic and gender invisibility, requiring new strategies in the reinvestment movement.

Suggested Citation

  • Elvin K Wyly & Mona Atia & Elizabeth Lee & Pablo Mendez, 2007. "Race, Gender, and Statistical Representation: Predatory Mortgage Lending and the US Community Reinvestment Movement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(9), pages 2139-2166, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:39:y:2007:i:9:p:2139-2166
    DOI: 10.1068/a38224
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a38224
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a38224?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael H. Schill & Susan M. Wachter, 1994. "Borrower and neighborhood racial and income characteristics and financial institution mortgage application screening," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, pages 223-243.
    2. Stephen L. Ross & John Yinger, 2002. "The Color of Credit: Mortgage Discrimination, Research Methodology, and Fair-Lending Enforcement," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262182289, December.
    3. Charles Hirschman & Richard Alba & Reynolds Farley, 2000. "The meaning and measurement of race in the U.S. census: Glimpses into the future," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(3), pages 381-393, August.
    4. Rothenberg, Jerome & Galster, George C. & Butler, Richard V. & Pitkin, John R., 1991. "The Maze of Urban Housing Markets," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226729510, September.
    5. Kathleen Engel & Patricia McCoy, 2004. "Predatory lending: What does Wall Street have to do with it?," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 715-751.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Mesly & David W. Shanafelt & Nicolas Huck & François‐Éric Racicot, 2020. "From wheel of fortune to wheel of misfortune: Financial crises, cycles, and consumer predation," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 1195-1212, December.
    2. Huck, Nicolas & Mavoori, Hareesh & Mesly, Olivier, 2020. "The rationality of irrationality in times of financial crises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 337-350.
    3. Walker, Chad & Baxter, Jamie & Ouellette, Danielle, 2015. "Adding insult to injury: The development of psychosocial stress in Ontario wind turbine communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 358-365.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Song Han, 2004. "Discrimination in Lending: Theory and Evidence," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 5-46, July.
    2. Jonathan S. Spader & Roberto G. Quercia, 2008. "Mobility and exit from homeownership: Implications for community reinvestment lending," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 675-709, January.
    3. Fidel Ezeala-Harrison & Glenda Glover & Jane Shaw-Jackson, 2008. "Housing Loan Patterns Toward Minority Borrowers in Mississippi: Analysis of Some Micro Data Evidence of Redlining," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 43-54, March.
    4. Manthos D. Delis & Panagiotis Papadopoulos, 2019. "Mortgage Lending Discrimination Across the U.S.: New Methodology and New Evidence," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 56(3), pages 341-368, December.
    5. Beck, T.H.L. & Behr, P. & Madestam, A., 2011. "Sex and Credit : Is There a Gender Bias in Microfinance?," Other publications TiSEM ea5418eb-7e1e-475c-a70a-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Wendy Edelberg, 2007. "Racial dispersion in consumer credit interest rates," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2007-28, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    7. Gabriel, Stuart A. & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 2005. "Homeownership in the 1980s and 1990s: aggregate trends and racial gaps," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 101-127, January.
    8. Jens Ludwig & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2021. "Fragile Algorithms and Fallible Decision-Makers: Lessons from the Justice System," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 71-96, Fall.
    9. David Bjerk, 2007. "Racial Profiling, Statistical Discrimination, and the Effect of a Colorblind Policy on the Crime Rate," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(3), pages 521-545, June.
    10. Tackie, Nii O. & Aboagye, Judith N. & Johnson, Gwendolyn J. & Braxton, Millicent & Hunt-Haralson, LaTanya & Wall, Gertrude D., 2013. "The Impact Of Selected Socioeconomic Factors On Asset Building In Rural Communities," Professional Agricultural Workers Journal (PAWJ), Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, vol. 1(1), pages 1-15.
    11. Jennifer Glick & Seung Han, 2015. "Socioeconomic Stratification from Within: Changes Within American Indian Cohorts in the United States: 1990–2010," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 34(1), pages 77-112, February.
    12. Patricia Funjika & Rachel M. Gisselquist, 2020. "Social mobility and inequality between groups," WIDER Working Paper Series wp2020-12, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Shamena Anwar & Hanming Fang, 2006. "An Alternative Test of Racial Prejudice in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 127-151, March.
    14. Arnott, Richard & Shevyakhova, Elizaveta, 2014. "Tenancy rent control and credible commitment in maintenance," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 72-85.
    15. Beck, T.H.L. & Behr, P. & Madestam, A., 2011. "Sex and Credit : Is There a Gender Bias in Microfinance?," Other publications TiSEM ea5418eb-7e1e-475c-a70a-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Patrick Bayer & Fernando Ferreira & Stephen L. Ross, 2018. "What Drives Racial and Ethnic Differences in High-Cost Mortgages? The Role of High-Risk Lenders," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 175-205.
    17. Song Han, 2011. "Creditor Learning and Discrimination in Lending," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 40(1), pages 1-27, October.
    18. James B. Kau & Lu Fang & Henry J. Munneke, 2019. "An Unintended Consequence of Mortgage Financing Regulation – a Racial Disparity," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 549-588, November.
    19. Gautier, Pieter A. & Zenou, Yves, 2010. "Car ownership and the labor market of ethnic minorities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 392-403, May.
    20. Stephen Malpezzi, 2023. "Housing affordability and responses during times of stress: A preliminary look during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(1), pages 9-40, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:39:y:2007:i:9:p:2139-2166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.