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Religiosity and discrimination against same-sex couples: The case of Portugal's rental market

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  • Gouveia, Filipe
  • Nilsson, Therese
  • Berggren, Niclas

Abstract

We measure and analyze discriminatory behavior against same-sex couples trying to rent an apartment in Portugal and pay special attention to the role of religiosity. This is the first correspondence field experiment investigating discrimination against this minority group in Portugal, and the first one to highlight religion as a factor of importance. In our experiment, four type of applicants varying in gender (male and female) and modality (same and opposite sex) reply to Internet ads to express interest in renting an apartment in the metropolitan areas of Porto and Lisbon. All applicant couples are presented as married, stable and professional. The main finding is that male same-sex couples face significant discrimination: The probability of getting a positive reply is 7–8 percentage points, or 23–26 percent, lower for them compared to opposite-sex couples. Interestingly, this effect is decreasing in the religiosity of a parish, suggesting that the more religious, Catholic and religiously homogenous people residing there are (with certain qualifications), the less discrimination of male same-sex couples there is. Further results reveal that discrimination is stronger when the population is older and when the rent and the square-meter price of apartments are higher. The present study extends the literature to a southern European, Catholic setting, validates previous research documenting worse treatment of same-sex couples in the housing market and demonstrates a mitigating effect of religiosity under certain conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gouveia, Filipe & Nilsson, Therese & Berggren, Niclas, 2020. "Religiosity and discrimination against same-sex couples: The case of Portugal's rental market," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:50:y:2020:i:c:s1051137720300656
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhe.2020.101729
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    2. Abbate, Nicolás & Berniell, Inés & Coleff, Joaquín & Laguinge, Luis & Machelett, Margarita & Marchionni, Mariana & Pedrazzi, Julián & Pinto, María Florencia, 2024. "Discrimination against gay and transgender people in Latin America: A correspondence study in the rental housing market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Élisabeth Tovar & Mathieu Bunel, 2023. "Fairness of the First-Come, First-Served rule on the rental housing market: answers from a hypothetical survey experiment," EconomiX Working Papers 2023-31, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    4. Mourelatos, Evangelos & Oikarinen, Elias, 2023. "Ethnic discrimination during wartime: Evidence from a field experiment in the Finnish housing market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Same-sex couples; Discrimination; Portugal; Field experiment; Lgbt; Housing; Religion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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