Different names, different discrimination? How perceptions of names can explain rental discrimination.

Introduction: The aim of this research is to look into how signals carried by names can contribute to the explanation of why rental discrimination is measured. Ethnic discrimination on the rental housing market is a widespread phenomenon that is increasingly captured in an objective way by means of correspondence studies. This methodology assumes that the trigger for the measured discriminatory behavior is the signal of ethnic origin in names. Nonetheless, previous research found that names also contain other signals such as religiosity, social class and educational level. Method: The current study relates data of 3.753 correspondence tests on the Flemish rental housing market in Belgium to survey data about the perception of the used names in the correspondence tests in terms of ethnic origin, gender, religiosity, social class and educational level. By doing so, we can set a step in the direction of why discrimination is measured. Results and discussion: We find that realtors discriminate based on the perception of a name as religious, which we describe as religious taste-based discrimination. Besides, we also find indications for statistical discrimination. For landlords, the perception of a name as non-European increases discrimination, indicating ethnic taste-based discrimination.

Searching for migration: estimating Japanese migration to Europe with Google Trends data.

In recent research, Google Trends data has been identified as a potentially useful data source to complement or even replace otherwise traditional data for predicting migration flows. However, the research on this is in its infancy, and as of yet suffers from a distinctive Western bias both in the topics covered as in the applicability of the methods. To examine its wider utility, this paper evaluates the predictive potential of Google Trends data, which captures Google search frequencies, but applies it to the case of Japanese migration flows to Europe. By doing so, we focus on some of the specific challenging aspects of the Japanese language, such as its various writing systems, and of its migration flows, characterized by its relative stability and sometimes limit size. In addition, this research investigates to what extent Google Trends data can be used to empirically test theory in the form of the aspirations and (cap)ability approach. The results show that after careful consideration, this method has the potential to reach satisfactory predictions, but that there are many obstacles to overcome. As such, sufficient care and prior investigation are paramount when attempting this method for less straightforward cases, and additional studies need to address some of the key limitations more in detail to validate or annul some of the findings presented here. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11135-022-01560-0.

Introducing a vignette experiment to study mechanisms of ethnic discrimination on the housing market.

Ethnic discrimination on the housing market has been subject of research for years. While a field experimental approach is widespread, alternative attempts to objectively measure mechanisms of discrimination on the housing market are scarce. In line with labor market research, we stress that to reduce rental discrimination against ethnic minorities, we need understanding its underlying mechanisms. This is the first paper that introduces a vignette experiment to do so. We distinguish between four mechanisms put forward in the literature but hardly ever empirically tested: agent taste-based discrimination, owner taste-based discrimination, neighborhood taste-based discrimination and statistical discrimination, in a multifactorial vignette experiment among 576 pre graduate real estate student. In addition, our experimental design allows us to examine whether unequal treatment is heterogeneous by property owner and neighborhood characteristics.

Signaling ethnic-national origin through names? The perception of names from an intersectional perspective.

Different methodologies rely on names, by assuming that people clearly and solely perceive signals of ethnic-national origin from names. This study examines the perception of names from an intersectional perspective in a West-European context. Firstly, we analyze whether people perceive signals of ethnic-national origin in names. Secondly, we test the excludability assumption by analyzing whether names signal also other factors. Thirdly, we distinguish between homogenous and mixed names. For these purposes, we collected data on the perception of 180 names in Belgium of Belgian, Moroccan, Turkish, Polish and Congolese origin. It appears that respondents distinguish Belgian from non-Belgian names rather than perceiving a specific ethnic-national origin. Besides, people perceive signals about a person's gender, religiosity, social class and educational level. This implies that scholars should be precautious with comparing discrimination against ethnic groups, if ethnic-national origin is only signaled through names. Moreover, the question arises as to what we are measuring exactly, since names contain complex signals.

The Conceptualization of Everyday Racism in Research on the Mental and Physical Health of Ethnic and Racial Groups: a Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Research on the influence of everyday racism and discrimination on the mental and physical health of ethnic and racial groups is on the rise. Scholars use self-reported experiences of racism and discrimination scales to study the relationship between everyday racism/discrimination and health. Throughout the years, these scales have been tested for psychometric measures, validity, and reliability of the items. However, less attention is paid to how the concept of everyday racism and discrimination is defined in the first place. METHODS: Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic review perusing 106 papers is conducted of studies investigating the relationship of everyday racism/discrimination and the physical and mental health of ethnic and/or racial groups. This review allows to synthesize how everyday racism is conceptualized, interpreted, and operationalized. A meta-analysis was not possible due to the heterogeneity in research designs, methodologies, and populations. RESULTS: Following the original conceptualization of everyday racism, results indicate that research pays attention to the repeatability of everyday racism. However, racism was only defined in 7% of the papers and in different ways varying from individual to institutional racism. In 86% of the papers did they measure everyday racism/discrimination through the Everyday Discrimination Scale. This influenced the way in which everyday discrimination was defined taking on a more individual perspective paying less attention to the micro-macro link of everyday racism.

Ethnic Residential Segregation: A Family Matter? An Integration of Household Composition Characteristics into the Residential Segregation Literature.

The ethnic residential segregation literature seldom considers household characteristics, despite their importance for residential mobility. This study offers a first step to amend this lacuna by focussing on the relationship between marital status and the presence of children on the one hand and the extent to which ethnic majority households live segregated on the other. We investigated this association with data from the 2011 Belgian Census. We performed a conditional logit model on a sample of households formed by young adults of Belgian origin living in the metropolitan areas of Antwerp (N = 11,241), Brussels (N = 6690), Charleroi (N = 3483), Ghent (N = 7825) and Liège (N = 5873). It appeared that households with children are less likely than childless households to live in diverse neighbourhoods. Considering partnership status, we find that singles are the most likely to live in diverse neighbourhoods. Amongst the couples without children, those couples in legal cohabitation are less likely to live in diverse neighbourhoods than married or other unmarried couples, while married couples with children are less likely to do so when comparing to unmarried couples with children, both legally cohabiting and others. We, therefore, conclude that it is important to consider (the interaction between) partnership status and the presence of children when studying ethnic residential segregation.

Is Living in a High-Rise Building Bad for Your Self-Rated Health?

While the construction of high-rise buildings is a popular policy strategy for accommodating population growth in cities, there is still much debate about the health consequences of living in high flats. This study examines the relationship between living in high-rise buildings and self-rated health in Belgium. We use data from the Belgian Census of 2001, merged with the National Register of Belgium (N = 6,102,820). Results from multilevel, binary logistic regression analyses show that residents living in high-rise buildings have considerable lower odds to have a good or very good self-rated health in comparison with residents in low-rise buildings (OR 0.67; 95 % CI 0.67-0.68). However, this negative relationship disappears completely after adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic variables (OR 1.04; 95 % CI 1.03-1.05), which suggests that residents' worse self-rated health in high-rise buildings can be explained by the strong demographic and socioeconomic segregation between high- and low-rise buildings in Belgium. In addition, there is a weak, but robust curvilinear relationship between floor level and self-rated health within high-rise buildings. Self-rated health increases until the sixth floor (OR 1.19; 95 % CI 1.15-1.24) and remains stable from the seventh floor and upwards. These findings refute one of the central ideas in architectural sciences that living in high buildings is bad for one's health.

Discrimination of tenants with a visual impairment on the housing market: Empirical evidence from correspondence tests.

BACKGROUND: According to the social model of disability, physical 'impairments' become disabilities through exclusion in social relations. An obvious form of social exclusion might be discrimination, for instance on the rental housing market. Although discrimination has detrimental health effects, very few studies have examined discrimination of people with a visual impairment. OBJECTIVES: We aim to study (1) the extent of discrimination of individuals with a visual impairment on the rental housing market and (2) differences in rates of discrimination between landowners and real estate agents. METHODS: We conducted correspondence tests among 268 properties on the Belgian rental housing market. Using matched tests, we compared reactions by realtors and landowners to tenants with and tenants without a visual impairment. RESULTS: The results show that individuals with a visual impairment are substantially discriminated against in the rental housing market: at least one in three lessors discriminate against individuals with a visual impairment. We further discern differences in the propensity toward discrimination according to the type of lessor. Private landlords are at least twice as likely to discriminate against tenants with a visual impairment than real estate agents. At the same time, realtors still discriminate against one in five tenants with a visual impairment. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the substantial discrimination against visually people with an impairment. Given the important consequences discrimination might have for physical and mental health, further research into this topic is needed.

Individual social capital, neighbourhood deprivation, and self-rated health in England.

Individual social capital is increasingly considered to be an important determinant of an individual's health. This study examines the extent to which individual social capital is associated with self-rated health and the extent to which individual social capital mediates t.he relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and self-rated health in an English sample. Individual social capital was conceptualized and operationalized in both the social cohesion- and network resource tradition, using measures of generalized trust, social participation and social network resources. Network resources were measured with the position generator. Multilevel analyses were applied to wave 2 and 3 of the Taking Part Surveys of England, which consist of face-to-face interviews among the adult population in England (N(i) = 25,366 respondents, N(j) = 12,388 neighbourhoods). The results indicate that generalized trust, participation with friends and relatives and having network members from the salariat class are positively associated with self-rated health. Having network members from the working class is, however, negatively related to self-rated health. Moreover, these social capital elements are partly mediating the negative relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and self-rated health.

The association between network social capital and self-rated health: pouring old wine in new bottles?

This study examines whether there is an association between network social capital and self-rated health after controlling for social support. Moreover, we distinguish between network social capital that emerges from strong ties and weak ties. We used a cross-sectional representative sample of 815 adults from the Belgian population. Social capital is measured with the position generator and perceived social support with the MOS Social Support-scale. Results suggest that network social capital is associated with self-rated health after adjustment for social support. Because different social classes have access to different sets of resources, resources of friends and family from the intermediate and higher service classes are beneficial for self-rated health, whereas resources of friends and family from the working class appear to be rather detrimental for self-rated health. From a health-promoting perspective, these findings indicate that policy makers should deal with the root causes of socioeconomic disadvantages in society.