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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 28 No. 4 2010

Interracial Friendships in College

Braz Camargo1,2; Ralph Stinebrickner3; Todd Stinebrickner1,4

1 Western University · 2 Fundação Getulio Vargas · 3 Berea College · 4 National Bureau of Economic Research

Abstract

We use unique longitudinal data to provide direct evidence about interracial friendships at different stages of college and to provide new evidence about some of the reasons for the observed patterns of interaction. We find that, while much sorting exists at all stages of college, black and white students are, in reality, very compatible as friends; randomly assigned roommates of different races are as likely to become friends as randomly assigned roommates of the same race. Further, we find that, in the long run, being (randomly) assigned a black roommate significantly increases the number of other black friends a white student has.

DOI
10.1086/653831
Volume
28
Issue
4
Pages
861-892
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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