The long run impact of childhood interracial contact on residential segregation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Merlino, Luca Paolo; Steinhardt, Max Friedrich; Wren-Lewis, Liam
• 署名单位: Universite Libre de Bruxelles; Free University of Berlin; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Paris School of Economics; INRAE
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105242
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: residential segregation; Social contact; RACE

摘要

This paper exploits quasi-random variation in the share of Black students across cohorts within US schools to investigate whether childhood interracial contact impacts the residential choices of Whites when they are adults. We find that, 20 years after exposure, Whites who had more Black peers of the same gender in their grade go on to live in census tracts with more Black residents. Further investigation suggests that this result is unlikely to be driven by economic opportunities or social networks. Instead, the effect on residential choice appears to come from a change in preferences among Whites.