Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/279762 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
MUNI ECON Working Paper No. 2023-08
Publisher: 
Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Brno
Abstract: 
Racial, ethnic, and gender minorities face mental health disparities. While mental health care can help, minoritized groups could face discriminatory barriers in accessing it. Discrimination may be particularly pronounced in mental health care because providers have more discretion over accepting patients. Research documents discrimination broadly, including in access to health care, but there is limited empirical research on discrimination in access to mental health care. We provide the first experimental evidence, from a correspondence audit field experiment ("simulated patients" study), of the extent to which transgender and non-binary people, African Americans, and Hispanics face discrimination in access to mental health care appointments. We find significant discrimination against transgender or non-binary African Americans and Hispanics. We do not find evidence of discrimination against White transgender and non-binary prospective patients. We are mostly inconclusive as to if cisgender African Americans or Hispanics face discrimination, except we find evidence of discrimination against cisgender African American women.
Subjects: 
mental health care
transgender
racial discrimination
audit
therapy
JEL: 
C93
I14
J16
I11
I18
J15
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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