Rearranging the Desk Chairs: A Large Randomized Field Experiment on the Effects of Close Contact on Interethnic Relations
Link to article:
Authors:
Elwert, Felix, Tamas Keller, Andreas Kotsadam
Year:
2023
Reference:
Vol 128(6), 1809-1840Summary
Contact theory predicts that interethnic exposure reduces anti-minority discrimination. By contrast, conflict theory predicts that interethnic exposure worsens discrimination. The scope conditions for both theories are vague; prior evidence is mostly correlational; and supportive field experiments for contact theory have largely accrued in rarified settings. This begs the question how interethnic contact affects interethnic relations in everyday situations. We test the causal effect of interethnic exposure on discrimination under quotidian conditions in a pre-registered randomized field experiment involving N=2,395 students in 39 Hungarian schools. We find that neither manipulating the closeness of interethnic exposure between students within classrooms, nor variation in ethnic composition across grade levels, affects anti-minority discrimination. This shows that the domains of contact and conflict theory are much less expansive than previously thought. Interethnic contact may not affect discrimination either way in many everyday settings.
Project:
Oppdragsgiver: Norges ForskningsrådOppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 287766
Frisch prosjekt: 8106 - Field Experiments to Identify the Effects and Scope Conditions of Social Interactions
