Intergroup Contact And Its Effects On Discriminatory Attitudes: Evidence From India

Shreya Bhattacharya

Working Papers from Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL)

Abstract: The contact hypothesis posits that having diverse neighbors may reduce one’s intergroup prejudice. This hypothesis is difficult to test, since individuals self-select into neighborhoods. Using a slum relocation program in India that randomly assigned neighbors, I examine the effects of exposure to other caste neighbors on trust and attitudes towards members of other castes. Combining administrative data on housing assignment with original survey data on attitudes, I find evidence corroborating the contact hypothesis. Exposure to more neighbors of other castes increases inter caste trust, support for inter caste marriage, and the belief that caste injustice is growing. I explore the role of friendships in facilitating these favorable attitudes. The findings shed light on the positive effects of exposure to diverse social groups through close proximity in neighborhoods.

Keywords: Contact Hypothesis; Intergroup Contact; Caste; Slum Relocation; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C83 R38 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58
Date: 2025-09
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cafral.org.in/sfControl/content/Speech ... ntergroupContact.pdf

Related works:
Working Paper: Intergroup contact and its effects on discriminatory attitudes: Evidence from India (2021)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:cafral:022264

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Anup B. Sonawane ().