The Impact of Childhood Inter-Ethnic Contact on Managers' Hiring Decisions
39 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2024 Last revised: 21 Mar 2025
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: 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
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