Can Information Reduce Ethnic Discrimination? Evidence from Airbnb
利用Airbnb数据发现，少数族裔房东的定价比同社区可比房源低3.2%，且统计歧视可完全解释这一差距；若所有不可观测信息被揭示，种族价格差异将消失。
We use data from Airbnb to identify the mechanisms underlying discrimination against ethnic minority hosts. Within the same neighborhood, hosts from minority groups charge 3.2 percent less for comparable listings. Since ratings provide guests with increasingly rich information about a listing’s quality, we can measure the contribution of statistical discrimination, building upon Altonji and Pierret (2001). We find that statistical discrimination can account for the whole ethnic price gap: ethnic gaps would disappear if all unobservables were revealed. Also, three-quarters (2.5 points) of the initial ethnic gap can be attributed to inaccurate beliefs of potential guests about hosts’ average group quality.