Rommel, Jens
- Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
We conduct a correspondence study to investigate whether couples with child are discriminated by landlords in rental housing markets. Based on 2390 messages sent to landlords across four megacities in China, we find that couples with children are 8.0 percentage points (pp) less likely to receive responses from landlords, and 5.9 pp. less likely to be invited to an open house by landlords. The responses received by couples with children are shorter and take longer on average. Discrimination is more pronounced in urban areas and during periods of heightened housing demand, such as after the Chinese New Year. We document empirical evidence of discrimination of couples with children in rental housing markets and the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of this discrimination, which pose a challenge for fertility policies.
Keywords
Housing inequality; Motherhood penalty; Discrimination; Correspondence study; China
Published in
China Economic Review
2026, volume: 97, article number: 102701
SLU Authors
Global goals (SDG)
SDG5 Gender equality
SDG10 Reduced inequalities
UKÄ Subject classification
Economics
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2026.102701
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/146667