Discriminations in the market for “Lemons”: A multicriteria correspondence test in France

The existence of discrimination by the sellers of second-hand cars is a little studied subject, whereas the possibility of acquiring a car conditions multiple aspects of economic and social life. In this article, the authors apply the correspondence test method to the purchase of a used car in order to measure the extent of discrimination in this market according to the ethnic origin, gender, place of residence and age of the applicant. The authors constructed six profiles of fictitious individuals, perfectly similar except for their age, gender, origin indicated by the consonance of their surname and first name or place of residence. Between January and May 2015, the authors used these fictitious profiles to respond to 489 used car sales ads located in Ile-de- France. Statistical analysis of the responses to these tests reveals the existence of discrimination according to gender and place of residence. The analysis shows that information based discrimination prevails on the second-hand car market rather than taste based discriminations.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecotra.2020.100192
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212012220301283
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/22120122
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Mbaye, Souleymane
  • Bunel, Mathieu
  • L'Horty, Yannick
  • Petit, Pascale
  • Parquet, Loïc du
• Publication Date: 2020-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Serial:
  • Economics of Transportation
  • Volume: 24
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier Science Publishers BV
  • ISSN: 2212-0122
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22120122

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Discrimination; Gender; Markets; Mobility; Multiple criteria decision making; Persons by race and ethnicity; Purchasing; Used cars; Used vehicle industry
• Geographic Terms: Ile-de-France (France)
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01759677
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 7 2020 11:07AM