Screening is considered a necessary mechanism for alleviating information asymmetry but has also raised concerns about increased discrimination in online peer-to-peer market platforms. Paradoxically, providers of goods and services may also voluntarily forgo screening, even though it increases the risks and costs associated with poor matches. We examine who may choose to forgo screening and why, and its impact on their performance outcomes. Our study’s empirical context is the Airbnb platform, wherein the “Instant Book” feature enables hosts to forgo the screening of guests. Utilizing a unique panel dataset of all listings in New York City during August 2015-February 2017, we first explore the antecedents of voluntarily switching to instant booking and then causally identify the impacts of switching. Our study provides evidence of the economic benefits of forgoing screening from increased occupancy even as review ratings decline; these effects are stronger for Black and female hosts. We discuss the strategic and social welfare implications of these findings within the context of current conversations on discrimination and bias in the sharing economy.

中文翻译：

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谁放弃了在线市场的筛选，为什么？来自 Airbnb 的证据

筛选被认为是缓解信息不对称的必要机制，但也引起了人们对在线 P2P 市场平台歧视增加的担忧。矛盾的是，商品和服务的提供者也可能自愿放弃筛查，尽管这会增加与匹配不佳相关的风险和成本。我们研究了哪些人可能会选择放弃筛查，为什么选择放弃，以及它对他们的绩效结果的影响。我们研究的实证背景是 Airbnb 平台，其中“即时预订”功能使房东能够放弃对客人的筛选。利用 2015 年 8 月至 2017 年 2 月期间纽约市所有房源的独特面板数据集，我们首先探索自愿切换到即时预订的前因，然后因果确定切换的影响。我们的研究提供了证据，证明即使在评论评分下降的情况下，放弃筛查也会因入住率增加而带来经济效益；对于黑人和女性宿主，这些影响更强。我们在当前关于共享经济中的歧视和偏见的对话背景下讨论了这些发现对战略和社会福利的影响。