What's in a Picture?: Evidence of Discrimination from Prosper.com
研究发现P2P借贷平台Prosper上，附有黑人照片的借款申请比信用状况相似的白人申请成功率低25%到35%，且黑人借款人的违约率更高，导致贷款人净回报更低。
We find evidence of significant racial disparities in a new type of credit market known as peer-to-peer lending. Loan listings with blacks in the attached picture are 25 to 35 percent less likely to receive funding than those of whites with similar credit profiles. Despite the higher average interest rates charged to blacks, lenders making such loans earn a lower net return compared to loans made to whites with similar credit profiles because blacks have higher relative default rates. These results provide insight into whether the discrimination we find is taste-based or statistical.