Racial Discrimination and Housing Outcomes in the United States Rental Market:

The seminar analyzes the persistent racial discrimination in the U.S. rental housing market, highlighting how the housing environment impacts both the short and long term, with intergenerational effects. Despite being legally prohibited, discrimination continues to disproportionately affect African Americans and Latinos, particularly in more segregated areas. Through audit experiments on online rental platforms, evidence shows that minorities receive fewer responses to their inquiries compared to white individuals, limiting their access to housing. This barrier perpetuates socioeconomic inequalities, reducing opportunities for social mobility and reinforcing structural gaps between generations. This lack of access to better environments not only affects the current generation but also exacerbates intergenerational disparities, perpetuating racial inequality in housing access and socioeconomic opportunities.