Doctoral Dissertation Research: Discrimination in the Rental Market, a Focus on Latinos

最近的研究表明，在美国城市，拉丁美洲人平均有四分之一的人试图获得租赁住房，而非洲裔美国人的这一比例为五分之一。然而，这一领域针对拉丁美洲人的研究相对较少。尽管对非裔美国人的歧视仍然是一个值得学术研究的重要话题，但重要的是，研究人员也应该对美国增长最快、人数最多的少数群体给予应有的关注。在这一领域，那些确实存在的针对拉美裔的研究在很多重要方面都受到了限制。它们不包括东南部的任何城市，那里是拉美裔人口增长最快的地区；它们不包括拉丁裔移民相对较新现象的城市；它们没有解决语言分析问题和基于电话的住房歧视的可能性；而且它们不包括对目标的观点或生活经历的任何分析。本研究通过对受卡特里娜飓风影响最严重的密西西比州格尔夫波特-比洛西-帕斯卡古拉房地产市场的深入分析，解决了这些重要的差距。三个问题推动了这项研究。首先，当地市场和邻里特征是否使某些地区更容易发生歧视？第二，是不是一些拉美裔人更容易受到住房歧视，是不是某些类型的住房中介更容易歧视？第三，拉丁美洲人如何解释他们在房地产市场的经历？本研究基于两个数据来源：一是电话审计，旨在测试2004年和2006年当地租赁中介对公平住房法的遵守情况；二是对卡特里娜飓风后生活在墨西哥湾沿岸的拉美裔人的深度采访。与审计的可变导向方法相反，访谈将提供对该地区拉丁美洲人的生活经历和观点的见解，为拉丁美洲移民这一经常被低估的群体发出声音。更广泛的影响：提高对哪些社会力量系统地影响歧视可能性的理解，以及拉丁美洲人如何解释他们在住房市场上的经历，既可以为地方和联邦政策提供信息，也有助于改善有关公平住房立法的政府和非营利组织的执法和教育工作。更一般地说，这一分析将为拉丁裔移民如何融入一个新的目的地、少数族裔和多数族裔成员之间的权力动态、以及灾难后美国住房市场的群体关系是否会发生变化提供重要的见解。

SES: 0623651PI: James Elliott, Jeannie Haubert Institution: Tulane UniversityRecent research shows that on average, Latinos are discriminated against in one in four attempts to acquire rental housing in U.S. cities as compared to one in five attempts for African Americans, yet relatively little research in this area has focused on Latinos. While discrimination against African Americans continues to be an important topic worthy of scholarly investigation, it is important that researchers also give due attention to the fastest growing and largest minority group in the U.S. In this area, those studies of Latinos that do exist are limited in important ways. They do not include any cities in the Southeast, the region of the country with the fastest growing Latino population; they do not include cities in which Latino in-migration is a relatively new phenomenon; they do not address the issue of linguistic profiling and the possibility for phone-based housing discrimination; and they do not include any analyses of the targets' perspectives or lived experiences. This research addresses these important gaps with an in-depth analysis of the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula housing market, the area of Mississippi most intensely affected by hurricane Katrina. Three questions drive this research. First, do local market and neighborhood characteristics make discrimination more likely in some areas? Second, are some Latinos more vulnerable to housing discrimination and are some types of housing agents more likely to discriminate? Third, how do Latinos interpret their experiences in the housing market? This study is based on two data sources: one, phone audits intended to test local rental agents' compliance with Fair Housing laws in 2004 and 2006; and two, in-depth interviews with Latinos living on the Gulf Coast after hurricane Katrina. In contrast to the variable-oriented approach of the audits, the interviews will provide insight into the lived experiences and perspectives of Latinos in the area giving voice to an often-underrepresented group, Latino migrants. Broader Impacts: Improved understanding of which social forces systematically affect the likelihood of discrimination and how Latinos interpret their experiences in the housing market can both inform local and federal policy and help improve enforcement and education efforts by governmental and non-profit organizations concerned with Fair Housing legislation. More generally, this analysis will provide important insights into how Latino migrants are incorporated into a new destination, power dynamics between minority and majority group members, and whether group relations change in a U.S. housing market after a disaster.