Working Paper: NBER ID: w11334
Authors: Roland G. Fryer Jr.; Paul Torelli
Abstract: There is a debate among social scientists regarding the existence of a peer externality commonly referred to as 'acting white.' Using a newly available data set (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health), which allows one to construct an objective measure of a student's popularity, we demonstrate that there are large racial differences in the relationship between popularity and academic achievement; our (albeit narrow) definition of 'acting white.' The effect is intensified among high achievers and in schools with more interracial contact, but non-existent among students in predominantly black schools or private schools. The patterns in the data appear most consistent with a two-audience signaling model in which investments in education are thought to be indicative of an individual's opportunity costs of peer group loyalty. Other models we consider, such as self-sabotage among black youth or the presence of an oppositional culture, all contradict the data in important ways.
Keywords: Racial Achievement Gap; Peer Externality; Acting White; Academic Achievement
JEL Codes: J01; I21
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Popularity (Z13) | Academic Achievement (I23) |
| Academic Achievement (GPA up to 3.5) (I23) | Popularity (Z13) |
| Academic Achievement (GPA beyond 3.5) (I23) | Popularity (Z13) |
| One standard deviation increase in grades (I24) | Social Status (Z13) |
| Peer Dynamics (C92) | Academic Performance (D29) |
| Racial Diversity (J15) | Conflict between Peer Acceptance and Academic Achievement (C92) |