Assistant Professor of Economics Venoo Kakar and Economics Lecturer Joel Voelz discuss their research into price differences among minority Airbnb hosts.
SF State Assistant Professor of Economics Venoo Kakar, Economics Lecturer Joel Voelz and other graduate students in Kakar's econometric theory class were curious about online rentals in San Francisco after reading a 2014 study on Airbnb hosts in New York City. The NYC study found that, on average, African American hosts priced their rentals 12 percent lower than Caucasians with similar listings. The authors attributed this finding to discrimination. Kakar and her students conducted a similar study to see if profile information, such as race, sexual orientation and gender, had any impact on the price of San Francisco Airbnb listings.
Read the complete story on SF State News
Additional News
Why people of color charge less for Airbnb rentals in San Francisco (audio clip) WUNC 91.5, 05/11/2018
Assistant Professor of Economics Venoo Kakar talked about her study showing that Asian and Hispanic Airbnb hosts charge less for rentals in San Francisco. All Things Considered, 05/08/2018 (clip not available online; this story was broadcast on seven NPR affiliate stations).