--- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>>
> To use the language of stats, after all other
> relevant variables are
> controlled for, race is still significant. Why is it
> so hard to
> believe that (white) mortgage brokers and bankers
> think of black
> people differently? Why are you and so many others
> so eager to deny
> that race makes a difference?
>
[WS:} Two reasons. First, beliefs of bankers and brokers are typically not included in those equations, so attributing unexplained variance to a variable not in the equation is methodological charlatanry in my book. It is tantamount to saying that if a defendant cannot prove his innocence, he must be guilty. It is done, but it stinks.
Second, focusing on beliefs of mortgage brokers and bankers obscures the fact that they are largely irrelevant in the market system, which will screw people up under its normal operation. Dwelling on those beliefs implies that the market system would work only if bankers and brokers changed their minds and attitudes. I think it is a delusion.
Wojtek
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