Elina Castillo
Research Mentor(s): Patrick Meehan
Mentor Department:
Authors: Elina Castillo, Patrick Meehan
Session: Session 5 (2:00pm – 2:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 94
Abstract
Racial discrimination in lending is illegal, which includes mortgage loans that allow for the purchase of homes, outlawed under the Fair Housing Act. However, while large loans are commonly studied and criticized for anything that could be construed as discrimination or bias, like higher interest rates or higher rates of loan denial for certain groups, small dollar mortgage loans, or mortgage loans under $150,000, often go understudied, and are becoming increasingly less common as prices continue. Despite the decreasing availability, it is important to determine if racial bias is present in these small dollar mortgage loans, and if so, the extent and repercussions, in order to spread awareness and potentially prevent future harm. To properly prepare for this analysis, we collected housing data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and American Community Survey (ACS) online databases. This data spans the years 2019 to 2023 and covers 20 popular cities in the United States. We have collected quantitative data, and will map it out, comparing the census tracts in each city in order to account for the difference across cities. Once that is done and the data is analyzed, we will be able to determine if there are any trends present that suggest or dissuade the idea of racial bias.
