Deborah Rho, economics professor at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences, was recently included in a story by Vox on criminal background checks and fair housing practices.
From the story:
Early research suggests fair chance ordinances may have some unintended consequences: One study found landlords in Minneapolis became more likely to discriminate by race after the policy took effect. But by and large, there hasn’t been much research into how fair chance laws are working, as proponents have been focused on raising awareness about the new protections and implementing them. ...
Deborah Rho, the other economist to study Minneapolis’ fair chance ordinance, suggested outcomes might have been different if Minneapolis had a greater supply of housing, or if the city removed certain barriers to new housing development. “Economic theory would tell us landlords would have less room to discriminate if they were competing with more landlords,” she said.
