The ‘acting native’ hypothesis: Evidence from classrooms in four European countries

Andreas Diemer

Labour Economics, 2025, vol. 96, issue C

Abstract: In analogy to the controversial ‘acting White’ narrative for racial achievement gaps among US children, I explore whether migrant background pupils in Europe are exposed to similar social pressure by their peers not to adopt behaviours perceived to be typical of the majority group, notably doing well in school. Leveraging comprehensive longitudinal data on classroom interactions and several proxies for academic achievement, including predetermined measures of ability, I find mixed and model-dependent evidence in support of this ‘acting native’ hypothesis in the European context.

Keywords: Peer effects; Social integration; Academic achievement; Social networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:96:y:2025:i:c:s0927537125000880

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102764

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