| Abstract: | This paper analyzes bank lending activities for owner-occupied housing loan extensions to minority members of Mississippi’s population. We analyze data on housing loan applications and accessibility patterns among the minority Black population relative to the majority White population groups in the State. The study looks hard at data for evidence of any patterns of discrimination toward minority housing loan applicants. And a Probit model is applied to examine the relative importance of economic variables (such as employment status, income level, and credit rating) versus noneconomic parameters (such as geographical location) in the housing loan decision making of banks toward minority borrowers. The evidence from our comparative data analysis suggests that there is a consistently high denial rates for minorities, which is not explained by financial (economic) factors. The formal test of discrimination with the Probit analysis also indicates some evidence of discrimination from, at least, the standpoint of redlining practices, albeit only with a modest predictive power. |
