Call For Papers
Risk and Racial Bias: Workshop on Improving Minority and Low-Income Homeownership Experiences

October 25, 2022 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The Community Development and Policy Studies (CDPS) team at the Chicago Fed is pleased to issue a call for papers for a workshop on risk and racial bias in residential real estate markets. The workshop is currently scheduled to be in person at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on October 25, 2022. The one-day event will feature research and scholarly exchange on evidence-based strategies to improve the homeownership experiences of minority and low-income families.

We invite submissions from researchers in the social sciences and law using a range of methodological approaches on questions related to homeownership as a means of wealth accumulation and the experiences of minority and low-income families. We especially welcome policy-oriented papers and submissions by researchers from under-represented groups. CDPS is specifically focused on the risks of homeownership, bias in housing and financial markets, how risk and bias interact to affect homeownership experiences for minority or low-income families, and how risks are shared among market participants. Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Refinancing
• Property taxes
• Home sales, including extent of gain or loss therefrom
• Neighborhood appreciation trends
• Mortgage delinquencies and defaults
• Underwriting algorithms and discrimination
• Market effects of institutional home buyers
• Impacts of the Community Reinvestment Act and fair lending laws
• Lending by non-banks, including financial technology companies
• Mortgage contract design and innovation, including shared equity and shared appreciation approaches

SUBMISSIONS: Papers should be submitted in portable document format (PDF) to [email protected] by Friday September 9, 2022. If your paper is accepted, CDPS will notify you by Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Authors should also indicate whether they would be willing to discuss a paper or participate i a panel discussion.

A stipend toward travel expenses will be provided for all workshop participants.