Working Paper: NBER ID: w14749
Authors: Joseph Price; Lars Lefgren; Henry Tappen
Abstract: Using data from the National Basketball Association (NBA), we examine whether patterns of workplace cooperation occur disproportionately among workers of the same race. We find that, holding constant the composition of teammates on the floor, basketball players are no more likely to complete an assist to a player of the same race than a player of a different race. Our confidence interval allows us to reject even small amounts of same-race bias in passing patterns. Our findings suggest that high levels of interracial cooperation can occur in a setting where workers are operating in a highly visible setting with strong incentives to behave efficiently.
Keywords: interracial cooperation; NBA; workplace dynamics
JEL Codes: J15; J71; L23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| White passer (J15) | Probability of passing to white teammate (C71) |
| Black passer (J15) | Probability of passing to black teammate (Z22) |
| White passer (J15) | Assist to white shooter (Y50) |
| Black passer (J15) | Assist to black shooter (Y50) |
| Absence of same-race bias (J15) | Passing patterns among NBA players (Z22) |