← Search

American Economic Review Vol. 96 No. 5 2006

Empathy or Antipathy? The Impact of Diversity

Johanne Boisjoly1; Greg J. Duncan2; Michael Kremer3; Dan Levy4; Jacque Eccles5

1 University of Quebec at Rimouski, 300 allées des Ursulines, Rimouski, Quebec G5L 3A1, Canada. · 2 Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 2046 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208-2600. · 3 Department of Economics, Harvard University, Littauer Center M-20, Cambridge, MA 02138, The Brookings Institution, and NBER. · 4 Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. · 5 Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 240 South State Street, 1251 Lane Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1290.

Abstract

Mixing across racial and ethnic lines could spur understanding or inflame tensions between groups. We find that white students at a large state university randomly assigned African American roommates in their first year were more likely to endorse affirmative action and view a diverse student body as essential for a high-quality education. They were also more likely to say they have more personal contact with, and interact more comfortably with, members of minority groups. Although sample sizes are too small to provide definitive evidence, these results suggest students become more empathetic with the social groups to which their roommates belong.

DOI
10.1257/aer.96.5.1890
Volume
96
Issue
5
Pages
1890-1905
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib

Cite