CAGE-SMF Policy Briefing: Discrimination on Airbnb
CAGE-SMF Policy Briefing: Discrimination on Airbnb
Tuesday 27 Sep 20168 December 2016
New report: Let’s stay together? Combating discrimination on Airbnb
The Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) launched a new report about discrimination and ethnicity on the online property platform Airbnb. In association with the Social Market Foundation, CAGE research associate Roland Rathelot presented the findings of his new research.
The research uncovers biases of some guests using the site when selecting accommodation on Airbnb in North America and Europe. It investigates price differences based on the ethnicity of hosts, exploring some of the factors behind those discrepancies. It looks into steps the site currently offers to mitigate this discrimination, and what further measures it might take in the future.
Roland Rathelot discussed his research, its methodology and findings, drawing out the implications for online platforms and discrimination, and what this data can tell us about equality, prejudice and bias in online marketplaces and beyond.
This paper is part of the SMF-CAGE Global Perspective Series
About
Roland Rathelot is an applied economist, mostly interested in labour markets. His current research deals with the job-search process, discrimination against ethnic minorities, and residential segregation.