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The Long-Run Effects of School Racial Diversity on Political Identity

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  • Stephen B. Billings
  • Eric Chyn
  • Kareem Haggag

Abstract

How do early-life experiences shape political identity? We examine the end of race-based busing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, an event that led to large changes in school racial composition. Using administrative data, we compare party affiliation in adulthood for students who had lived on opposite sides of newly drawn school boundaries. Consistent with the contact hypothesis, we find that a 10 percentage point increase in the share of minorities in a White student's assigned school decreased their likelihood of registering as a Republican by 2 percentage points (12 percent). Our results suggest that schools in childhood play an important role in shaping partisanship.

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  • Stephen B. Billings & Eric Chyn & Kareem Haggag, 2021. "The Long-Run Effects of School Racial Diversity on Political Identity," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 267-284, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aerins:v:3:y:2021:i:3:p:267-84
    DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20200336
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    2. Maria Cotofan & Robert Dur & Stephan Meier, 2021. "Does growing up in a recession increase compassion? The case of attitudes towards immigration," CEP Discussion Papers dp1757, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Luca Paolo Merlino & Max Friedrich Steinhardt & Wren-Lewis Liam, 2022. "The long run impact of childhood interracial contact on residential segregation," PSE Working Papers halshs-03754124, HAL.
    4. Achard, Pascal & Suetens, Sigrid, 2023. "The Causal Effect of Ethnic Diversity on Support for Redistribution and the Role of Discrimination," Other publications TiSEM a5e6e0cd-5e07-4a24-a15c-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. Londoño-Vélez, Juliana, 2022. "The impact of diversity on perceptions of income distribution and preferences for redistribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    6. Polipciuc, Maria & Cörvers, Frank & Montizaan, Raymond, 2023. "Peers’ race in adolescence and voting behavior," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Holmlund, Helena & Lindahl, Erica & Roman, Sara, 2023. "Immigrant peers in the class: Effects on natives’ long-run revealed preferences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Joan Costa-i-Font & Jorge García-Hombrados & Anna Nicińska, 2020. "Long-Lasting Effects of Communist Indoctrination in School: Evidence from Poland," CESifo Working Paper Series 8766, CESifo.
    9. Bharti, Nitin Kumar & Roy, Sutanuka, 2023. "The early origins of judicial stringency in bail decisions: Evidence from early childhood exposure to Hindu-Muslim riots in India," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    10. Engelberg, Joseph E. & Guzman, Jorge & Lu, Runjing & Mullins, William, 2021. "Partisan Entrepreneurship," SocArXiv qhs6j, Center for Open Science.
    11. Leonardo Bursztyn & Thomas Chaney & Tarek Alexander & Hassan Aakaash Rao, 2022. "The Immigrant Next Door: Long-Term Contact, Generosity, and Prejudice," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03870145, HAL.
    12. Juliana Londoño-Vélez, 2022. "The Impact of Diversity on Perceptions of Income Distribution and Preferences for Redistribution," NBER Working Papers 30386, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Achard, Pascal & Suetens, Sigrid, 2023. "The Causal Effect of Ethnic Diversity on Support for Redistribution and the Role of Discrimination," Discussion Paper 2023-013, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    14. Holmlund, Helena, 2022. "Preferences and opportunities in the marriage market. How comprehensive schooling made the wealthy marry down," Working Paper Series 2022:11, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    15. Gershenson, Seth & Lindsay, Constance A. & Papageorge, Nicholas W. & Campbell, Romaine & Rendon, Jessica H., 2023. "Spillover Effects of Black Teachers on White Teachers' Racial Competency: Mixed Methods Evidence from North Carolina," IZA Discussion Papers 16258, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Leonardo Bursztyn & Thomas Chaney & Tarek Alexander & Hassan Aakaash Rao, 2022. "The Immigrant Next Door: Long-Term Contact, Generosity, and Prejudice," Working Papers hal-03870145, HAL.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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