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Credit card redlining

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Author Info
Ethan Cohen-Cole

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Abstract

This paper evaluates the presence of racial disparities in the issuance of consumer credit. Using a unique and proprietary database of credit histories from a major credit bureau, this paper links location-based information on race with individual credit files. After controlling for the influence of such other place-specific factors as crime, housing vacancy rates, and general population demographics, the paper finds qualitatively large differences in the amount of credit offered to similarly qualified applicants living in Black versus White areas. An instrumental variables approach allows the paper to distinguish between issuer-provided credit (supply) and utilization of credit (demand), where instruments for demand are derived from social theory à la Veblen (i.e., `keeping up with the Joneses'). The results suggest that the observed differences in credit lines by racial composition of neighborhood are largely driven by issuer decisions rather than by demand.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in its series Quantitative Analysis Unit Working Paper with number QAU08-1.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedbqu:qau08-1

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Related research
Keywords: Discrimination in consumer credit;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Coate, Stephen & Loury, Glenn C, 1993. "Will Affirmative-Action Policies Eliminate Negative Stereotypes?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1220-40, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Ferguson, Michael F & Peters, Stephen R, 1995. " What Constitutes Evidence of Discrimination in Lending?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(2), pages 739-48, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Sherrie L.W. Rhine & Maude Toussaint-Comeau & Jeanne M. Hogarth & William H. Greene, 2001. "The role of alternative financial service providers in serving LMI neighborhoods," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue Apr, pages 59-80. [Downloadable!]
  4. Moro, Andrea & Norman, Peter, 2004. "A general equilibrium model of statistical discrimination," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 1-30, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Basmann, Robert L & Molina, David J & Slottje, Daniel J, 1988. "A Note on Measuring Veblen's Theory of Conspicuous Consumption," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(3), pages 531-35, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  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.). [Downloadable!]
  7. Munnell, Alicia H. & Geoffrey M. B. Tootell & Lynn E. Browne & James McEneaney, 1996. "Mortgage Lending in Boston: Interpreting HMDA Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 25-53, March.
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  8. Geoffrey M. Tootell, 1996. "Redlining in Boston: do mortgage lenders discriminate against neighborhoods?," Working Papers 96-6, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Ying Li & Eric Rosenblatt, 1997. "Can Urban Indicators Predict Home Price Appreciation? Implications for Redlining Research," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 25(1), pages 81-104. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Edward S. Prescott & Daniel D. Tatar, 1999. "Means of payment, the unbanked, and EFT '99," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Fall, pages 49-70. [Downloadable!]
  11. Brock, William A & Durlauf, Steven N, 2001. "Discrete Choice with Social Interactions," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 68(2), pages 235-60, April.
  12. 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.
  13. Bagwell, Laurie Simon & Bernheim, B Douglas, 1996. "Veblen Effects in a Theory of Conspicuous Consumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 349-73, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Harbaugh, Richmond, 1996. "Falling behind the Joneses: relative consumption and the growth-savings paradox," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 297-304, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Paige Marta Skiba & Jeremy Tobacman, 2007. "Measuring the individual-level effects of access to credit: evidence from payday loans," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue May, pages 280-301.
  16. Adriaan R. Soetevent, 2006. "Empirics of the Identification of Social Interactions; An Evaluation of the Approaches and Their Results *," Journal of Economic Surveys, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 20(2), pages 193-228, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. David B. Gross & Nicholas S. Souleles, 2002. "Do Liquidity Constraints And Interest Rates Matter For Consumer Behavior? Evidence From Credit Card Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(1), pages 149-185, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. repec:att:wimass:199127 is not listed on IDEAS
  19. John V. Duca & Stuart S. Rosenthal, 1993. "Borrowing constraints, household debt, and racial discrimination in loan markets," Research Paper 9312, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Downloadable!]
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  20. Zenou, Yves & Boccard, Nicolas, 2000. "Racial Discrimination and Redlining in Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 260-285, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Ethan Cohen-Cole & Burcu Duygan-Bump, 2008. "Household bankruptcy decision: the role of social stigma vs. information sharing," Quantitative Analysis Unit Working Paper QAU08-6, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
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