The long run impact of childhood interracial contact on residential segregation

Journal article: This paper exploits quasi-random variation in the share of Black students across cohorts within US schools to investigate whether childhood interracial contact impacts the residential choices of Whites when they are adults. We find that, 20 years after exposure, Whites who had more Black peers of the same gender in their grade go on to live in census tracts with more Black residents. Further investigation suggests that this result is unlikely to be driven by economic opportunities or social networks. Instead, the effect on residential choice appears to come from a change in preferences among Whites.

Author(s)

Luca Paolo Merlino, Max Friedrich Steinhardt, Wren-Lewis Liam

Journal
  • Journal of Public Economics
Date of publication
  • 2024
Version
  • 1
Volume
  • 239