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Different Market, Same Treatment? A Global Comparison of Hiring and Housing Discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Devos, Louise

    (Ghent University)

  • Lippens, Louis

    (Ghent University)

  • Baert, Stijn

    (Ghent University)

  • Verhaeghe, Pieter-Paul

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

Abstract

While extensive empirical research documents discrimination in labour and housing markets, comparative insights between these markets remain limited. We address this gap by juxtaposing levels of discrimination across five legally protected grounds - race and ethnicity, sex and gender, health and disability, sexual orientation, and social origin - in both markets. We apply hierarchical Bayesian meta-regressions to global data from correspondence audit studies conducted from 2000 to 2024. In doing so, we account for the metadata’s multilevel structure, including study, group, location and time components. Our meta-analysis uncovers structural differences in discrimination, with racial and ethnic discrimination being greatest in the labour market and discrimination based on social origin being highest in the housing market. Frequentist robustness checks that address publication bias yield comparable findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Devos, Louise & Lippens, Louis & Baert, Stijn & Verhaeghe, Pieter-Paul, 2026. "Different Market, Same Treatment? A Global Comparison of Hiring and Housing Discrimination," IZA Discussion Papers 18673, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18673
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zschirnt, Eva & Ruedin, Didier, 2016. "Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: A meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015," EconStor Preprints 142176, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Lippens, Louis & Vermeiren, Siel & Baert, Stijn, 2023. "The state of hiring discrimination: A meta-analysis of (almost) all recent correspondence experiments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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