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Shocking Racial Attitudes: Black G.I.s in Europe

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  • David Schindler
  • Mark Westcott

Abstract

Can attitudes towards minorities, an important cultural trait, be changed? We show that the presence of African American soldiers in the U.K. during World War II reduced anti-minority prejudice, a result of the positive interactions which took place between soldiers and the local population. The change has been persistent: in locations in which more African American soldiers were posted there are fewer members of and voters for the U.K.’s leading far-right party, less implicit bias against blacks and fewer individuals professing racial prejudice, all measured around 2010. Our results point towards intergenerational transmission from parents to children as the most likely explanation.

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  • David Schindler & Mark Westcott, 2017. "Shocking Racial Attitudes: Black G.I.s in Europe," CESifo Working Paper Series 6723, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6723
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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