Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP1942
Authors: Christian Dustmann; Lan Preston
Abstract: The attitudes of ethnic majority populations towards other communities is a potentially important determinant of social exclusion and of the welfare of ethnic minorities. The suggestion that negative attitudes towards minorities may be affected by the ethnic composition of the locality in which individuals live has often been made and empirically investigated. We point to an important potential for bias in simple estimates of ethnic context effects if individual location decisions are driven in part by attitudinal factors. We also suggest an instrumental variables procedure for overcoming such bias in data with appropriate spatial information. Our results suggest that allowing for such effects is of considerable importance.
Keywords: attitudes; ethnic minorities; locational choice
JEL Codes: J15; R23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| ethnic composition of localities (R23) | attitudes towards ethnic minorities (J15) |
| higher concentrations of ethnic minorities (J15) | more hostile attitudes towards minorities (J15) |
| simultaneity bias (C41) | biased estimates of ethnic concentration on attitudes (J15) |
| ethnic context (J15) | attitudes towards ethnic minorities (J15) |