The Impact of Childhood Inter-Ethnic Contact on Managers' Hiring Decisions

39 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2024 Last revised: 21 Mar 2025

See all articles by Liam Wren-Lewis

Liam Wren-Lewis

Paris School of Economics (PSE)

Max Friedrich Steinhardt

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - Department of Business and Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano (LdA); Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)

Luca Paolo Merlino

Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Philip Rosenbaum

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Economics; University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics

Date Written: September 02, 2024

Abstract

This paper analyzes whether inter-ethnic contact in childhood affects the hiring behavior of managers. To identify the causal effect of exposure, we exploit quasi-random variation in the share of immigrant students across cohorts within Danish schools. Using administrative employer-employee data, we find that being exposed to more immigrant peers of the same gender in
school leads Danish managers to hire more immigrants later in life. Exploring a variety of mechanisms, we find evidence most consistent with a change in managers’ attitudes toward immigrants.

JEL Classification: I29, J15, J61, J71

Suggested Citation

Wren-Lewis, Liam and Steinhardt, Max Friedrich and Merlino, Luca Paolo and Rosenbaum, Philip and Rosenbaum, Philip, The Impact of Childhood Inter-Ethnic Contact on Managers' Hiring Decisions (September 02, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4944159 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4944159

Liam Wren-Lewis (Contact Author)

Paris School of Economics (PSE) ( email )

48 Boulevard Jourdan
Paris, 75014 75014
France

Max Friedrich Steinhardt

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - Department of Business and Economics ( email )

Boltzmannstrasse 20
D-14195 Berlin, 14195
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano (LdA) ( email )

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Milano, Mi 20122
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/maxfriedrichsteinhardt/

Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) ( email )

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Hamburg, 20148
Germany
0049-40-340576-662 (Phone)
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HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/maxfriedrichsteinhardt/

Luca Paolo Merlino

Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Philip Rosenbaum

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics ( email )

Øster Farimagsgade 5, Bygn 26
Copenhagen, 1353
Denmark

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/philrosenbaum/

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Economics ( email )

Porcelænshaven 16A 1. Sal
Frederiksberg C, DK - 2000
Denmark

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