Related papers: The Problem of Infra-marginality in Outcome Tests …

Threshold tests have recently been proposed as a useful method for detecting bias in lending, hiring, and policing decisions. For example, in the case of credit extensions, these tests aim to estimate the bar for granting loans to white and…

In observational studies of discrimination, the most common statistical approaches consider either the rate at which decisions are made (benchmark tests) or the success rate of those decisions (outcome tests). Both tests, however, have…

In critical decision-making scenarios, optimizing accuracy can lead to a biased classifier, hence past work recommends enforcing group-based fairness metrics in addition to maximizing accuracy. However, doing so exposes the classifier to…

There are racial disparities in the COVID-19 test positivity rate, suggesting that minorities may be under-tested. Here, drawing on the literature on statistically assessing racial disparities in policing, we 1) illuminate a statistical…

Differences in data distributions between demographic groups, known as the problem of infra-marginality, complicate how people evaluate fairness in machine learning models. We present a user study with 85 participants in a hypothetical…

Tests for racial bias commonly assess whether two people of different races are treated differently. A fundamental challenge is that, because two people may differ in many ways, factors besides race might explain differences in treatment.…

We propose a method to test for the presence of differential ascertainment in case-control studies, when data are collected by multiple sources. We show that, when differential ascertainment is present, the use of only the observed cases…

Algorithmic lending has transformed the consumer credit landscape, with complex machine learning models now commonly used to make or assist underwriting decisions. To comply with fair lending laws, these algorithms typically exclude legally…

In selection processes such as hiring, promotion, and college admissions, implicit bias toward socially-salient attributes such as race, gender, or sexual orientation of candidates is known to produce persistent inequality and reduce…

We consider the problem of conducting an experiment to study the prevalence of racial bias against individuals seeking legal assistance, in particular whether lawyers use clues about a potential client's race in deciding whether to reply to…

We show that lenders face more uncertainty when assessing default risk of historically under-served groups in US credit markets and that this information disparity is a quantitatively important driver of inefficient and unequal credit…

Scoring models support decision-making in financial institutions. Their estimation and evaluation are based on the data of previously accepted applicants with known repayment behavior. This creates sampling bias: the available labeled data…

In an effort to improve the accuracy of credit lending decisions, many financial intuitions are now using predictions from machine learning models. While such predictions enjoy many advantages, recent research has shown that the predictions…

Detecting testimonial injustice is an essential element of addressing inequities and promoting inclusive healthcare practices, many of which are life-critical. However, using a single demographic factor to detect testimonial injustice does…

Risk assessment tools are widely used around the country to inform decision making within the criminal justice system. Recently, considerable attention has been devoted to the question of whether such tools may suffer from racial bias. In…

Algorithmic fairness in lending today relies on group fairness metrics for monitoring statistical parity across protected groups. This approach is vulnerable to subgroup discrimination by proxy, carrying significant risks of legal and…

Assessing the fairness of a decision making system with respect to a protected class, such as gender or race, is challenging when class membership labels are unavailable. Probabilistic models for predicting the protected class based on…

Disparities in lending to minority applicants persist even as algorithmic lending finds widespread adoption. We study the role of risk-management constraints, specifically Value-at-Risk ($\VaR$) and Expected Shortfall (ES), in inducing…

This paper shows that black and Hispanic borrowers are 39% more likely to experience a debt collection judgment than white borrowers, even after controlling for credit scores and other relevant credit attributes. The racial gap in judgments…

In studies of discrimination, researchers often seek to estimate a causal effect of race or gender on outcomes. For example, in the criminal justice context, one might ask whether arrested individuals would have been subsequently charged or…