Discrimination in the Czech rental housing market: A field experiment on the Internet

This thesis presents a field experiment studying discrimination on the rental housing market in the Czech Republic. The study is conducted over the Internet and consists of two parts. The first survey examines ethnic discrimination and the effects of gender and social status of fictitious candidates - Czechs, Roma and Vietnamese on the Czech rental housing market. The second investigation examines discrimination based on sexual orientation of fictional couples - heterosexuals, gays and lesbians. Both surveys use the e-mail to communicate with landlords who provide rental housing on the Internet. Discrimination is measured by comparing landlords' different response rates to individual groups. The study's findings indicate the occurrence of ethnic discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. Minority groups are discriminated against the majority - Czechs, and receive fewer responses to their demand prompted a closer contact and invitation to showings. The highest rate of discriminatory behavior was found against the Roma minority. Further observation shows evidence of the discrimination of homosexual gay couple that received fewer responses and far fewer invitations to showings than heterosexual couple. On the contrary, a different behavior towards homosexual couple - lesbians was not indicated.