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Banks, insurance companies, and discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Block, Walter
  • Snow, Nicholas
  • Stringham, Edward

Abstract

This article examines some of the reasons why banks and insurance companies have been accused of discrimination, and shows that this is by and large a false accusation. Economic analysis demonstrates that racial discrimination is not a profit-maximizing strategy. Actually, unwise public policies are actually precluding many consumers from the market.

Suggested Citation

  • Block, Walter & Snow, Nicholas & Stringham, Edward, 2008. "Banks, insurance companies, and discrimination," MPRA Paper 26035, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:26035
    as

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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/26035/1/MPRA_paper_26035.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Calomiris, Charles W & Kahn, Charles M & Longhofer, Stanley D, 1994. "Housing-Finance Intervention and Private Incentives: Helping Minorities and the Poor," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 26(3), pages 634-674, August.
    2. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Erik Hurst, 2002. "The Transition To Home Ownership And The Black-White Wealth Gap," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 281-297, May.
    3. Day, Theodore E & Liebowitz, S J, 1998. "Mortgage Lending to Minorities: Where's the Bias?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(1), pages 3-28, January.
    4. Luigi Buzzacchi & Tommaso Valletti, 2005. "Strategic Price Discrimination in Compulsory Insurance Markets," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 30(1), pages 71-97, June.
    5. Geoffrey M. B. Tootell, 1993. "Defaults, denials, and discrimination in mortgage lending," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Sep, pages 45-51.
    6. 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.
    7. Yezer, Anthony M J & Phillips, Robert F & Trost, Robert P, 1994. "Bias in Estimates of Discrimination and Default in Mortgage Lending: The Effects of Simultaneity and Self-Selection," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 197-215, November.
    8. Michael Ferguson & Stephen Peters, 1997. "Cultural Affinity and Lending Discrimination: The Impact of Underwriting Errors and Credit Risk Distribution on Applicant Denial Rates," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 11(1), pages 153-168, February.
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    10. Roback, Jennifer, 1986. "The Political Economy of Segregation: The Case of Segregated Streetcars," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(4), pages 893-917, December.
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    12. HAROLD Black & M. Collins & Ken Cyree, 1997. "Do Black-Owned Banks Discriminate against Black Borrowers?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 11(1), pages 189-204, February.
    13. Harrison, Glenn W, 1998. "Mortgage Lending in Boston: A Reconsideration of the Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(1), pages 29-38, January.
    14. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, September.
    15. Harold Black & Breck Robinson & Robert Schweitzer, 2001. "Do lenders discriminate against low-income borrowers?," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 28(4), pages 73-94, June.
    16. Lynn E. Browne & Geoffrey M. B. Tootell, 1995. "Mortgage lending in Boston: a response to the critics," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Sep, pages 53-78.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Peter J Boettke & Daniel J. Smith & Nicholas A. Snow, 2011. "Been There Done That: The Political Economy of Déjà Vu," Chapters, in: Steven Kates (ed.), The Global Financial Crisis, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Walter BLOCK, 2015. "On Slavery and Libertarianism," Journal of Economic and Social Thought, KSP Journals, vol. 2(3), pages 161-174, September.
    3. Ken B. Cyree & Drew B. Winters, 2023. "Investigating bank lending discrimination in the US using CRA-rated banks’ HMDA loan data," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(3), pages 371-395, December.
    4. Marta Ostrowska, 2021. "Does new technology put an end to policyholder risk declaration? The impact of digitalisation on insurance relationships," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 46(4), pages 573-592, October.
    5. repec:ksp:journ3:v:1:y:2015:i:3:p:161-174 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    redlining; financial regulation; unintended consequences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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