Research Seminar on Diversity and Development

HSE International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) and NES Center for the Study of Diversity and Social Interactions held another session of their joint Research Seminar on Diversity and Development on April 17, 2018. The event was held jointly with the seminar “Political Economy” and Economic Development and Growth Research Group.

David Schindler, Assistant Professor at Tilburg School of Economics and Management, presented his paper "Shocking Racial Attitudes: Black GIs in Europe".

Abstract: Can attitudes towards minorities, an important cultural trait, be changed? We show that the presence of African American soldiers in the UK during World War II reduced anti-minority prejudice, a result of the positive interactions which took place between soldiers and the local population. The change has been persistent: in locations in which more African American soldiers were posted there are fewer members of the UK’s leading far-right party, less implicit bias against blacks and fewer individuals professing racial prejudice, all measured around 2010. We show that persistence has been higher in rural areas and areas with less subsequent in-migration.