More than Just Friends? School Peers and Adult Interracial Relationships

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Merlino, Luca Paolo; Steinhardt, Max Friedrich; Wren-Lewis, Liam
• 署名单位: University of Antwerp; Free University of Berlin; Helmut Schmidt University; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Paris School of Economics; INRAE
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/702626
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 663-713
• 关键词: outcomes evidence; social networks; segregation; RACE; selection; BEHAVIOR; IMPACT; bounds; MODEL; marry

摘要

This paper investigates whether interracial contact in childhood impacts adult romantic relationships. We exploit quasi-random variation in the share of black students across cohorts within US schools. We find that more black peers of the same gender lead whites to have more relationships with blacks as adults. While we do not find impacts on labor market outcomes, there are significant effects on reported racial attitudes. Furthermore, an increase in meeting opportunities is unlikely to explain the increased interracial relationships, since the effect is persistent across time, space, and social networks. Overall, interracial contact during childhood has important long-term behavioral consequences.