Interaction, Stereotypes, and Performance: Evidence from South Africa

Lucia Corno, Eliana La Ferrara and Justine Burns

American Economic Review, 2022, vol. 112, issue 12, 3848-75

Abstract: We exploit a policy designed to randomly allocate roommates in a large South African university to investigate whether interracial interaction affects stereotypes, attitudes and performance. Using implicit association tests, we find that living with a roommate of a different race reduces White students' negative stereotypes towards Black students and increases interracial friendships. Interaction also affects academic outcomes: Black students improve their GPA, pass more exams and have lower dropout rates. This effect is not driven by roommate's ability.

JEL-codes: D91 I23 J15 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

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Working Paper: Interaction, stereotypes and performance. Evidence from South Africa (2019)
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DOI: 10.1257/aer.20181805

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