Ethnic discrimination in the German housing market : A field experiment on the underlying mechanisms

Ethnic discrimination in the housing market has long been seen as a cause of residential segregation and social inequality. While research has investigated the existence and extent of discrimination with regard to written applications for housing, little is known about personal inquiries via telephone. This study reports on findings from a telephone audit study that has allowed us to estimate the impact of (ethnic) accents and to distinguish between taste-based and statistical discrimination. We find no significant discrimination against callers with Turkish names. However, callers with both a Turkish name and accent were invited to view apartments significantly less often. Information about steady employment compensated for this disadvantage to a large extent. We conclude that statistical discrimination plays a major role in explaining why persons of Turkish origin receive fewer invitations to view apartments