Market Design Choices, Racial Discrimination, and Equitable Microentrepreneurship in Digital Marketplaces
中文摘要
本研究考察市场设计选择，特别是质量认证，在缓解数字市场中种族歧视方面的潜力。我们采用利用Airbnb“超赞房东”（Superhost）评定不连续性的断点回归设计（RDD），发现黑人房东从质量认证中获得的收益比其他房东多1.5倍。此外，我们发现了有力的证据表明，这一不成比例的增长并非以非超赞房东黑人房东为代价。这表明质量认证能够有效减少歧视并促进公平结果。进一步地，我们运用双重稳健机器学习方法进行的分析揭示，即使消费者评论（一种广泛使用的市场特征和可信的用户生成质量信号）显著存在，质量认证的有效性依然持续。我们的研究强调了审慎运用市场设计以促进数字市场中少数族裔创业者公平的重要性。本文由信息系统领域编辑Hemant Bhargava接受。补充材料：在线附录和数据文件可在 https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01717 获取。
Abstract
This study investigates the potential of market design choices, specifically quality certification, to mitigate racial discrimination in digital marketplaces. Using a regression discontinuity design (RDD) that exploits the discontinuity in Airbnb’s Superhost assignment, we find that Black hosts benefit 1.5 times more from the quality certification than other hosts. Moreover, we find compelling evidence that this disproportionate increase does not come at the expense of non-Superhost Black hosts. This suggests that quality certification can effectively reduce discrimination and promote equitable outcomes. Further, our analysis utilizing a doubly robust machine learning approach reveals that the effectiveness of quality certification persists even in the prominent presence of consumer reviews, a widely used market feature and a credible user-generated quality signal. Our research underscores the judicious use of market design in fostering equity for minority entrepreneurs in digital marketplaces. This paper was accepted by Hemant Bhargava, information systems. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01717 .