Discrimination in the Austrian rental housing market: The effect of information concerning first and second-generation immigrant status

• This study experimentally examines how immigrant generation (first, first and a half, and second-generation immigrant background) affects housing discrimination against individuals with Serbian, Turkish and Syrian names in Austria. • Discrimination decreases as immigrant generation increases, with the lowest rates for second-generation and the highest for first-generation immigrants. • Providing information about being born and raised in the country does not uniformly increase the callback rate for all immigrant groups (compared to no information), but benefits only those with Syrian names. • The study highlights acculturation as a key factor in reducing housing discrimination against immigrants. This study investigates the previously unexplored effect that immigrant generation has on housing discrimination against immigrants. Property owners may perceive more recent immigrants as particularly “other” and fear that they will not be good tenants, e.g. because they will treat a property in an undesirable manner or not pay their bills. To test the effect of acculturation, we conduct an email correspondence test in Austria and compare landlords’ responses to inquiries from immigrants (with a Serbian, Syrian or Turkish name) of the first, first and a half, and second-generation to those who do not provide respective information about their immigration background. We find that when applicants indicate their place of birth and upbringing, discrimination is highest for first-generation immigrants and lowest for second-generation immigrants. This suggests an advantage for more acculturated applicants. However, compared to providing no information, actively signaling a second-generation background only benefits one of the immigrant groups tested (Syrians), who may be perceived as recent refugees otherwise.