Ethnic discrimination in the Hungarian rental housing market

Abstract This paper explores the degree of discrimination faced by Roma home-seekers, who are members of the largest ethnic minority group in Europe. We first measure the extent of ethnic discrimination of Roma people in a Central-Eastern European country with weak norms against discrimination and second, test whether providing relevant information about applicants can reduce discrimination. We conducted two field experiments examining real-world behaviors of landlords. In study 1 (N=1070), landlords received an inquiry from an applicant who either mentioned their Roma ethnicity or not. In Study 2 (N=440), the inquiries also mentioned either a high-status or a low-status job, or no information on employment as control. Results showed dramatic levels of ethnic discrimination: a Roma person would need to contact nine landlords to secure a viewing whereas a non-Roma person would only need to contact two. This difference was not attenuated even when applicants signaled their status, suggesting that in contexts with deep-rooted prejudice against certain ethnic minorities, discrimination can persist despite counter-stereotypical information. By focusing on real-world interactions in a CEE country, this study contributes rare experimental evidence on ethnic discrimination outside Western Europe and highlights the limits of interventions that use counter-stereotypical information in such settings.